Far Away
by Miss Starfire
Summary: SEQUEL TO WITHOUT A TRACE. Akane and Ranma struggle to make their relationship work while attempting to put their lives back in order. As they focus on making up for the time they were far away from each other, they overlook signs of a silent threat that attempts to set them apart. COMPLETE
1. Prologue

**Far Away – A sequel to Without a Trace**

What happens when Nickleback's song is mixed with Without a Trace? A whole lot of inspiration!

**NEW READERS:** If you haven't read "Without a Trace," I urge you to do so before you read this story. Not only is it an entertaining read, but it will make this story much more enjoyable.

**OLD FANS:** YESH! I'm back! I know, I know! I said I would take a longer break, but the reviews for WAT were very positive and encouraging, I just had to come back to do this. Turns out that while working on other things (trying to learn to play Inuyasha's _To Love's End_ on the piano) and listening to music, Nickelback's song inspired a sequel to WAT, and a sequel to this sequel. If you want to have an idea where the story will go, take a moment to listen to _Far Way_ by Nickelback. If you want an idea of what to expect from this story, picture all the drama, confusion, frustration and WTF moments from WAT…and then multiply them by 10 :D

Please review if you like the story. Every review keeps the creativity bunnies coming back.

**Summary:** SEQUEL TO WITHOUT A TRACE. Akane and Ranma struggle to make their relationship work while attempting to put their lives back in order. As they focus on making up for the time they were far away from each other, they overlook signs of a silent threat that attempts to set them apart.

Don't own Ranma! If I did, WAT would be made into a live-action movie, with Ranma being played by Josh Duhamel.

_**UPDATE:**_ This is version 1.1 of the Prologue. One of my readers pointed out a few boo-boos my beta didn't catch (he was more excited about the sequel than the proofreading :P) I hope this is better, Kikko :) Thanks for the heads up!

**Prologue  
**

Akane and I walked out of Dr. Tofu's office, hand-in-hand. I had just walked inside his clinic as a fake woman having nothing but the clothes on my back, and I came out of it as a full man with my woman in in arms.

My woman.

I always thought that couples that referred to each other as _my _thisor _my_ that, were possessive bastards full of shit that would leave their partner at the drop of hat.

I was wrong; for the most part.

While some of those people don't mean what they said, some do. Like me.

Though, I doubt any of them had to go through what I we went through, before we ended up together. I'm sure as hell it made me appreciate what I had, a whole lot more than I did before. I never thought about the future before; just about the day I lived in. The last two years had taught me how wrong I was to think this way. Thinking about seizing the day is not a terrible thing to do, but only if the seizing is helping you shape your life.

So, that's what I did.

After we returned to her home, and I found out that everyone knew about her returning except me, I decided I had been given the second chance I prayed every night since I thought her gone. I still don't know how, but she came back to me, and she made me a _real_ man, again. Not only physically, but in personality, as well. I had put off taking on the responsibilities of a man long enough. I had to be a man; a real man, for her.

There was no more time for random fiancées, or pointless adventures, or silly plans to break us up. We had wasted enough time. _I_ had wasted enough time.

I know she felt the same.

That night she stayed with me, as I was unwilling to let her go so soon. After dragging around my broken body and spirit for an entire year after she forced me to leave her behind, I was not going to be left behind anymore. We slept on her couch in the living room, and I held her close to me the entire night. I had the mother of all neck pains the next morning, but it had been worth it because she was still there when I woke up.

It took me a few weeks to feel comfortable leaving her side. I spent countless nights sleeping on the roof of her room, guarding her slumber, and her life. I feared the day the Phoenix people would come for her again. I feared it every day, and every night.

I still do.

But she has been able to calm my fears, and I've learned to trust her to be able to fight back.

She _can_ fight back.

Even though she gave up most of her Phoenix benefits when she cured herself from the curse, she still holds some. If she wanted to, she might be able to take me. She almost has in the past few months, but she always holds back. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? Sometimes, it hurts my pride that she is so strong because, let's face it, I'm the man. I'm supposed to protect her, and keep her safe from all those around us. Yet, I know she doesn't need me for that, at least not as much as she claims she does, or as much as she used to.

She knows it irks me. She knows it drives me mad. She knows it makes me feel unworthy of her time.

What else am I supposed to offer her? I have nothing much.

So, my search began.

My search to do anything, and everything, to be able to give Akane anything she wants.

* * *

This is the only POV chapter in the entire story. I hardly ever write POV stories, but I wanted to start the path of the story from Ranma's side. The chapters have not been written yet, but the outlines have been completed. As before, the more reviews I get, the less I sleep typing up this story of you ^_^


	2. Adjusting

**Chapter 1 – Adjusting**

Ranma Saotome loudly yawned as he finished mopping the floors of the Tendo Dojo. After sitting for several hours in a boring and confusing lecture regarding chemical reactions of substances, playing janitor for the dojo was his reward. He emptied the contents of the bucket outside the dojo before wringing the mop almost dry. He walked around the dojo to the storage room behind it, and returned all the cleaning supplies to the small room. He carefully closed the door so that he did not make any more noise than necessary, as he knew Soun had already gone to bed for the night.

Ranma tiptoed inside the house and headed straight to the living room, knowing he would find Akane buried in books for the test she had tomorrow night.

"The dojo's ready for tomorrow, 'kane," he said from the door.

Akane nodded, not taking her eyes from the book she was reading.

Ranma rolled his eyes. He looked around and saw that save the small desk lamp Akane had on the dining table, every other light inside the house had already been turned off. Ranma had nothing else to do at the Tendo home for the night, but he did not want to leave Akane just yet. He knew that she would not go to bed either until she felt confident about her taking her test tomorrow, or until she passed out on the table from exhaustion.

"Akane, it's almost midnight. You oughta get some rest."

Akane did not respond. Ranma crossed his arms as his exasperation grew. Every time she had a test, it was the same fight.

"Akane, are you even listening to me?"

Again, he could not get a response from her. "I'm gonna take a shower before I leave. Do ya need me for anything else?"

She did not even blink.

Ranma dropped his arms in defeat before walking away from the living room. He picked up his gym bag from the floor at the entrance hall and headed upstairs to take a quick bath, or so he thought. The moment the water hit him, he allowed the steam to relax him after such an especially long day.

_"Every day is an especially long day."_

Ever since he had made himself the promise of making something with his life, a year ago outside Dr. Tofu's clinic when Akane came back and cured him, every day had been as long and tiring as this one. Sometimes, more tiring than long.

Since neither Ranma nor Akane had been able to finish high school due to their _situation_, only a few weeks after she came back they had enrolled in accelerated night school to catch up. Peers their age had already finished half of college by now, so Akane felt she was extremely behind. Ranma did not care much about finishing school, but after adjusting to waitressing for months, he realized he needed something to fall back on. Besides, if having an education allowed him to provide for her, he would shut up about it and study along her side.

After Kasumi gave birth to her twins –a boy and a girl, she and the doctor moved out of the Tendo home to his own home behind the clinic. Nabiki was home only during the summer, and since she had begun her senior year in college, her internship had taken her away from her home longer than she had anticipated. Other than a few letters or random calls, Nabiki had been completely engulfed in her studies as she pushed her way through finishing her studies in international business and marketing. She had enrolled in a special honors program where she would obtain both a bachelor and a master's degree concurrently, so the closer she got to graduation, the more pressure she was placed under.

It seemed that school had been the rule around the Tendo household, as Kasumi had returned to school herself. She decided to attend nursing school to assist her husband with the clinic, and having Nodoka watch over the twins when she went to school had made it easier on her. She had been lucky that she did not have to worry about her own internship since she was already working at a clinic with doctor Tofu in order to meet that requirement of the school. She lived and worked at the same location, and relished the benefit of having Nodoka watch over her baby twins while she was away from home.

_"I need some practice for when I babysit Ranma and Akane's babies, don't you think?" _Nodoka had told Kasumi in front of him. Ranma had just scoffed and had walked away from the conversation with his hands behind his neck.

"If it's not marriage it's babies," he mumbled to himself.

As expected, Genma and Soun had wanted Ranma to marry Akane immediately after they saw them kiss at the clinic. Lucky for them, Kasumi and Nodoka had convinced the eager fathers to wait until the teens settled back into routine after finding out what had transpired in China to both of them. Akane had not gone into detail regarding how she escaped from Saffron, but that simple piece of information was not needed to realize how much they had gone through on their own.

_"Was it too much?"_

He knew how their last misadventure had affected him and his view on life, but he sometimes wondered if Akane's life had been affected to a greater degree than his had. Even if she acted like herself most of the time, he had caught her several times staring into space, and only severe shaking would get her to come around. She would always tell him that she was all right when he had asked about her wellbeing after these blackouts, but he knew there was something she was suffering from, behind his back.

Ranma closed his eyes as he considered the implications of his last thought. Maybe she was having the same regrets he had had before regarding taking someone's life. He knew living with a murderer sign stamped on your forehead was not easy, even if the murderee had it coming.

"_Murderee,"_ Ranma laughed. Usually, a person killed by another person, was referred to as _victim_, but in this case, it simply did not apply. Saffron had _not_ been a victim; Ranma knew, and he had tried to convince Akane of such, but she would just wave him off and say she did not regret what she had done.

He knew better than that. Regardless of how difficult the training had been under the guidance of the Phoenix, and how difficult her battle had been with Saffron, _nothing_ ever prepared anyone to cope with the consequences of ending someone's life. From all the people he knew that would have eventually snapped and were more capable at twisting someone's neck or smothering someone with a pillow in their sleep, Akane had been at the bottom of that list.

He had honestly believed that the delirious Kuno siblings would be the first to kill someone with their unwise antics. Yet, they had not. They had been sane enough to make it through school long enough to move to America for their college education. He could only hope they liked America so much they never came back, as most of his enemies had not returned to Nerima since they found out about his bedridden times.

Then again, he wished Ukyo would return to Nerima. Even if he never truly intended to marry her, and never saw her as anything more than the sister he never had, he still longed for her presence. Especially as of recent, when he felt Akane and he were just too busy for each other and spent so much time apart. Ukyo would have known what to do, and would have listened to his petty fears that he would never be good enough for her. If she was here and he could spill his heart out to her, what would she say?

"_She would tell me to strap on a pair, and that nothing is wrong, and it's all in my head."_

Perhaps, it was not such bad advice.

What Ranma feared the most, was giving Akane the sense that he was slowing her down. Everyone they knew was going on about their lives, following their plans as they had once hoped. His own dad and Akane's worked part-time at the dojo. Nodoka worked part-time at a daycare where Kasumi's twins went when no one could watch them. Ryouga and Akari had finally married each other, and had started a family. Even Akane's and his old friends from high school were halfway done with their education and well on their way to finding the careers they loved.

However, it all boiled down to where _they_ stood.

They were two twenty-year-olds who were yet to finish high school, being nowhere near having college admission eligibility. They worked full time at the dojo in order to pay for school, and attended night school full time as well. Every day was the same routine. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Ranma would teach in the dojo in the morning, and study for school at night. On Tuesday and Thursdays, he would attend school all day and then come home to clean the dojo, only to go to bed and teach at the dojo the next morning. At the beginning of another week, Akane would swap and she would teach in the dojo for the three alternating days of the workweek, and go to school on Tuesday and Thursdays as he would before that. Every week was the same routine: one was at work, and the other at school, and when they met again, one was studying and the other was cleaning the dojo for the next day.

Then, the weekend arrived. The dojo opened on Saturdays, making it the only day they would teach their students at the same time. At the end of the day, they would both clean the dojo and call it a night. On Sundays, they would study together for their weekly tests, and fill out college applications together before heading out to shop for supplies and groceries for the week. Since Akane was the only daughter left at home, it was her responsibility to take her of Soun. She did the best she could, and Ranma helped the most he could, but at the end of the day, the result was the same: Get up. Work. Study. Clean. Shower. Sleep. Repeat.

Sometimes, they had been lucky enough that there was not much to do on Sundays. They would rejoice for their unexpected free time, make plans to spend a romantic afternoon together, get ready to go out, and they would end up falling asleep on the floor or her couch, dressed up and all. With so much to do and so much pressure to do it, sleeping whenever they had the chance was not an opportunity they would just pass on. Ranma could not remember the last time they had had a real date since she came back.

"_Oh, wait! I do! NEVER!" _He thought, bitterly.

Even though Ranma lived with his parents at the house they had built when he was in la-la land, he still spent more time at the Tendo's than he did when he lived here. Before the sun was up, he was already getting ready for the day, and his mother was already busy in the kitchen making breakfast for him before he ran out of the home. He would spend the entire day away from his home and return at almost midnight to sleep for a few hours and do it all over again the next day. He spent so much time at Akane's that he had moved half of his clothes to his old room, his books stayed in her room, and had even brought his own set of spare toiletries to her house.

Today, his last set of clean clothes were going to be used to go home for the night, so he had placed all of his dirty clothes in his gym bag to take back home to wash. On top of everything they already did, he would not allow Akane to be responsible for washing his clothes, and she tended to know when he would run out of clothes before he figured it out.

Ranma felt himself dozing off inside the tub, so he decided to call it for the day before he drowned in his sleep. He got out of the tub and dried himself while the tub drained. He put on his clothes, put away the dirty ones in his bag, and brushed his teeth and put on deodorant. Once he finished, he picked up the bag and tiptoed down the stairs to the living room, expecting to see Akane holding on to the books. However, he found her asleep with her head on the table. Ranma exhaled at the scene.

He carefully placed the bag on the floor and walked up to Akane. He looked around her and found a handful of open books scattered all over the floor, papers with notes, and a pencil still in her hand. He put away the books, stacked the papers of notes, took the pencil from her, and slowly peeled her away from the uncomfortable position she had not planned to sleep in.

"Akane, you stubborn mule," he lovingly whispered to her as he carried her in his arms to her room.

Once there, he laid her on her bed before taking off her shoes. He covered her body with the only blanket he could find and closed the window to prevent the cold breeze from waking her up. He walked up to her and combed with his fingers a few rebellious hairs away from her face. He leaned closer to her and kissed her head before walking out of her room and making his way out of the Tendo home as quietly and effectively as he could with all the lights out.

xxxXXXxxx

Less than five hours later, the alarm woke up Ranma, and he thanked it for its job well done by slamming it shut with his fist. He felt as if he had just blinked and had to wake up again. He could not _wait_ for the weekend to arrive. The winter holidays were around the corner, and he knew that this would give him a chance to take a break from school, and close the dojo for a few days. He would have a handful of days to truly rest and spend some quality time with Akane.

_"If I can convince her to stop studying, that is," _he thought as he remembered how last year she made them both volunteer at a shelter where they spent their days off singing to children and serving dinner to the homeless. When he had questioned her why she had chosen to spend her holidays working for other people, her answer had left him with no other choice but to follow her lead. _"It looks good in a college application, for starters. And, it reminds me that no matter how bad I think my life is, I can always brighten someone who has it worse than me."_

Her response, while full of common sense, had hurt his ego. Did she really think her life was bad? Did she have to go feed kids and elderly homeless people to feel better about herself? Was he not making it a good life for her? Ranma growled in anger as he remembered that moment. It reminded him that Akane would probably not feel so stuck if she had not lost those three years of her life, and she probably would have not lost them if he had not been around to ruin it for her.

"I can't change that, even if I wanted to."

He gathered the energy to pull off the covers from his body and stood up from bed. He stretched his arms and went straight to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Once he had finished, he left his mother a note that he had left earlier than usual, so she would not worry about having breakfast ready for him. He ran out his home and quickly made his way to Akane's by jumping on rooftops and running on fences. The sun had still not come up, so he did not have to worry about strangers pointing at him and wondering why he would not use the sidewalk like a normal person would.

He finally made it to the Tendo residence as he landed on the roof. He walked to Akane's side of the home and peeked over her window. She was still fast asleep and he smiled. He carefully opened the door to her room and with skills only he had, jumped over the desk and landed next to her bed without a noise. He stared at her and realized she still wore the same clothes she had worn last night. _"She musta been beat."_

He took off his shoes and his shirt before he slid into bed with her. He lay on his left side so that her back was against his chest. He slid his right arm around her waist and used his left arm as makeshift pillow. He felt her stomach rise up and down steadily to denote she was still asleep, her slumber not affected at all by his intrusion. He closed his eyes to enjoy her company and gain a few more minutes of sleep, but not before whispering the same statement he made to her any morning he snuck inside her room, like today.

"I love you, Akane."

He had said it; so many times, he had lost count. However, he always said it to her back, while she slept. He had been so sure of his feelings towards her when she had been gone, and when he had kissed her back in China, but he had been unable to say the words to her face, yet. He did not understand why he would stumble over his words and chicken out when he had tried since she returned. He knew it was not that he did not feel it or knew it to be true, and he was certain that she had some feelings for him too, but she had not said it either. Her lack of confessing her emotions to him made him fear her feelings were not as intense as his were, and he did not want to scare her off by screaming, at the top of his lungs, that he loved her. Even though they were, for all technical purposes, already engaged, it did not guarantee him she would choose _him_ to whom with spending the rest of her life. It had been painful when he had realized that Akane had no obligation to him, as he had no obligation to her.

_Ranma closed the dojo early in order to surprise Akane by picking her up at school. He ran up to his old room to gather clean clothes, showered, and changed back into clean clothes in record time. He jumped on rooftops as fast as he could but careful enough so that he did not sweat too much. The last thing he wanted was making Akane pass out with his odor. Finally, after a few minutes, and after stopping to pick up some flowers for her, he arrived at the entrance of Furinkan High. Lucky for them, the night courses were offered at their old high school, so they did not have to travel too far to complete the program. _

_ He walked inside the school and headed straight to the classroom in which he knew she would be. The class had not yet ended, and in order to prevent any distractions, he sat on the floor underneath the windows, next to the entrance of the room. He waited there for a few minutes until the bell rang. The varied population of students –ranging from people their age to much older adults, made their way out of the classroom and disappeared around the corner of the building, closing the classroom door behind them. Ranma did not see Akane out yet, and was going to make his way in but her voice stopped him in his tracks._

_ "Satoshi, thank you for lending me your notes today. I can't believe I fell asleep during break. How embarrassing!"_

_ "Don't sweat it, Akane," a male voice responded. "I know you've got things to do with your dojo and all. When are you getting it certified, anyway?"_

_ Akane frowned. She had no idea how she was ever going to pull that off. The amount of money needed to get the dojo certified under the national registry was ridiculous. It would take her and Ranma years to gather the funds to get the paperwork underway. She hoped once they finished college –if any college even bothered to accept them, they would have the funds or at least the means to obtain a loan to begin the long process of certification. It did not matter how good their Dojo was, without certification, they could not fully operate as a business, and would never make a living out of it._

_ "Certification is not in our plans as of yet. We need to get the structure in order first, you know."_

_ "I understand. My dad took five years to certify his dojo, and even then we haven't been able to entice enough good sensei to come teach at it."_

_ "Tell me about it, sometimes I feel like I'm running the damn thing all by myself!"_

_ Ranma flinched. He had been doing his best to run the dojo when she was at school, but he was still learning and he would forget important aspects of it, sometimes, such as collecting the monthly tuition -twice._

_ "Well, if you ever get tired of it, remember that the offer still stands."_

_ Ranma perked at this. He wanted to walk in there and confront them both but he remained hidden behind the walls._

_ "Your offer, it's extremely generous. But, I've already told you this is my family's legacy. I can't just abandon it like that."_

_ Ranma heard footsteps and he assumed he was getting closer to her. He took a quick peek from his current location and saw that he had been correct in his assumption. Satoshi had walked closer to Akane who was still putting away her belongings. He stood there and admired her until she finished. Once her bag was packed, he grabbed her left hand and stroked her knuckles._

_ "You wouldn't be abandoning it, you know? Just…making it easier for you and your Dad. It must difficult to try and manage a new dojo and come to school. I could make it easy for you, if you'd let me."_

_ Akane slid her hand away from him and walked around him, heading out as she spoke. "Satoshi, we've been through this, I'm engaged. And, while I'm flattered by your offer, I must decline yet again. Ranma and I are learning to run the dojo together, and one day we will be as settled as your dad's dojo is. We just need time."_

_ Ranma made a mental small celebration when he heard her tell him off._

_ "I hear what you say, but I will continue to ask."_

_ Akane was getting annoyed, more than she already was. "And why would that be?"_

_ Satoshi shrugged. "It seems like the right thing to do. You claim to be engaged to this guy, but he hasn't even bothered putting a ring on your finger. How serious do you think he really is with you? How do you know he's just not following along because he has to?"_

_ Akane was not able to face him. She had thought about wearing a ring as part of their engagement, but Ranma had not talked to her about making it official to the world, so she refrained herself. "You don't know him like I do. Ranma is in this as much as I am."_

_ "Then why do I keep hearing he keeps making mistakes that you have to fix?"_

_ Ranma waited for her to answer but she did not respond. What could she say? That it had been only one mistake? No, he had made a lot. That the mistakes were insignificant? No, he had forgotten to collect the funds they needed for school and almost got dropped out of the program because of it. He was slowly learning, and while Akane had been upset at his mistakes, he had made sure he did not repeat them more than once._

_ At least, for the most part he tried._

_ "Look, Akane. One day you'll realize what I tell you is the truth. That guy, whether he tries or not, he isn't good enough for you. All I've heard from you and others is that he caused you nothing but trouble. What is it going to take for you to finally open your eyes and leave him? Are you waiting for him to almost kill you?"_

_ Both Akane and Ranma froze. If only he knew what he had just said. If only he knew how close, he was, to the truth._

_ "Has he even told you that he loves you?"_

_ Ranma could not take it anymore. He stood up behind the closed door and crushed the flowers he was carrying before tossing them on the floor. He ran back to Akane's home to pick up a couple of his books before he ran to his home as fast as he could. He knew Akane would be cleaning the dojo today, and he needed to study. _

_ Akane walked out of the classroom and saw the crushed flowers on the floor. She picked them up and wondered if Ranma had been there just now. She shook her head of such a silly notion and threw the flowers in the nearest trashcan she could find. That night, Ranma studied at home while Akane cleaned the Dojo alone._

_"I never forgot to collect the tuition after that, though."_

Ranma dozed off for a few minutes before Akane's alarm woke up both of them. He reached out and silenced it, and waited for Akane to realize he was there. He did not want to scare her as he already had a few of the previous times he had arrived to her room, unannounced. The first time he did, he ended up pinned between the floor and her desk she had used to beat him to a pulp with before she realized it was just him.

Akane tried to stretch but quickly realized there was a presence behind her. She tensed for a moment but when she was able to smell his familiar scent, she pressed her back closer to him. He responded by uttering a moan of approval and rested his face between her shoulder and neck. She, in turn, placed her right hand on his, which still surrounded her waist. She closed her eyes, enjoying in silence the much-needed physical contact. A spike of guilt ran through her when he began placing kisses on her neck. It was obvious Ranma felt the same emptiness she felt. They had been so busy for the last few months; they hardly ever spent time showing each other how they felt.

She allowed him to continue his ministrations, shamelessly responding to them by moaning whenever he kissed the right spot on her neck, blushing every time he did. Ranma's body began reacting to her invitation, but he knew that this was not the time to go down that road again. Last time, it had not been pleasant, and they had not been able to face each other for days. He decided to end both of their torture and opted to simply hug her with both of his arms and whisper in her ear.

"Good morning, tomboy. Sleep well?"

Akane wrinkled her nose at the never-absent nickname he had for her. She wondered if it would kill him to have a normal nickname for her, just as every other guy out there had for their respective girlfriends. She knew, however, that Ranma was new to the realm of serious relationships, just as she was. This did not mean, though, that he did not utter his unusual affectionate nicknames for her with the utmost love and respect. "I did. You're here early."

"Yup. Didn't even wake up mom or anyone. Just wanted a few minutes of peace, alone with you, you know?"

Akane nodded before a big grin appeared on her face at the revelation. She knew he was going to decline her invitation, but she ventured it, anyway. "I guess that means you will be having breakfast with me?"

Ranma flinched. How was it that this woman never learned? Every morning she would try to coerce him into eating her breakfast, but he was still afraid to eat anything she made. He loved her more than any words could describe, but he also knew that in order to be with her, he had to remain alive. Every time he ate her food, he took a closer step to his grave, suggesting a counterproductive approach to his goal of remaining alive.

"I'm not even hungry, really" he lied to her just a second before his stomach, argued back.

_"Damn."_

Akane laughed at his pathetic attempt to avoid the subject. "Don't even _think_ you will get away with not letting me make breakfast today!" she said to him as she tried to make an escape to the kitchen.

Ranma hugged her tighter, knowing what she had in mind.

"Wait a minute! You knew what I was thinking? I didn't know you were a mind reader, Akane. Is that a Phoenix-given gift?"

Akane chuckled. _"If only he knew how many gifts from them I still have left."_

"Maybe, maybe not?" she told him before she pushed him off the bed, making him land on his back on the floor, next to her bed. She knew it had not hurt him, and he knew she knew it as well. She jumped over his body and walked up to her dresser, pulling out clean underwear. She then walked to her closet and grabbed a pair of lose pants and a tank top. She still had a few hours before she left for school, so she did not see the need to dress up just yet.

"That's a little revealing for winter, don't you think?"

"No, I don't. Maybe I need to show off a little bit more of skin to advertise the dojo; drag some potential students with me during my morning jog."

Ranma snorted. "As if I'd let you go out like that."

Akane stood in front of her closet, deciding what her actual set of clothes would be for the day as Ranma stood up and walked up behind her. He held her from behind and nibbled on her ear as he whispered. "Akane, why don't you read my mind right now?"

Akane closed her eyes and pulled him closer by holding on to the back of his head with her arm. He accepted her invitation and began running his hands over her hips. "Let me see," she began as she turned around to face him, holding him by his neck. "I sense a need…"

Ranma nodded as he leaned in closer and placed a quick kiss on her lips. "Yup, I need you…"

She responded with a light chuckle. It never ceased to amaze her how Ranma could ever be this affectionate after all the fighting they had done in the past. "I sense an action…"

"Yes, I'd like some…" he said before kissing her again.

Akane giggled. "I see you…and me…"

"Yeah…"Ranma moaned.

"Alone…"

"Man, you are good at this mind reading…" he said.

"In the kitchen…" she led on.

"I'd like it in the kitchen…"

"Making…"

"Making what?" he said in between kisses.

"Breakfast!" she said a little bit too loud for his liking.

"Ugh! Akane!" He groaned, allowing her to push him away. "I'll be down there in no time," she said as she made her way to the bathroom, clean clothes in hand.

"Do you need some help with that?" he asked as she left. A loud laughter was his answer before he closed the closet door for her, just a tad harder than needed.

"_Every_ time."

Ranma took deep breaths to calm his hormones, before turning around and making the bed for her. Once he was satisfied with completing his task, he sat on the bed and spent a few minutes making sure there were no traces of Akane's earlier teasing. After he felt better, he jogged down the stairs only to trip on his gym bag.

"Son of a…! I can't believe I forgot it!"

He kicked the bag closer to the door so that he would not forget it again. He heard Akane walk down the stairs, drying her hair with a towel.

"So, wadja want for breakfast?"

Ranma tensed. There it was again. Was there no one around there to save him?

"Good morning!"

Ranma let out a sigh of relief. The front door opened behind him to reveal Kasumi walking in with a basket in her hands. "Oh! Ranma! You're here early."

"So are you!" He said as he hugged Kasumi to thank her for appearing just in time, praying the basket contained what he hoped were ingredients for breakfast.

"Glad to see you, too!" she said.

"Kasumi! What a surprise! Dad will be very happy to see you!"

Kasumi nodded. "I haven't seen him in a while. Thought I'd bring breakfast for everyone."

"YES!" Ranma shouted, earning him a slap on his arm from Akane.

"Oh! Quiet, you!"

Kasumi laughed at their antics, and they both followed her to the kitchen where she began cooking. Akane sat at the table with Ranma just before Kasumi noticed that he was not wearing his shirt or shoes, and that Akane seemed as if she had just woken up and showered. Kasumi gave them a questioning look before addressing Ranma again.

"Did you spend the night here, Ranma?"

Akane laughed at her sister's implications. "He wishes. He just got up really early and sneaked into my room, trying to stop me from making that," she answered her as she pointed at the basket of food.

Ranma stuck his nose up in the air, obviously offended that she could not believe he had just honestly wanted to spend some time with her. "I never said that, Akane."

"But you thought about it."

"Feh, _that_ you read my mind for…"

Kasumi, sensing a fight was about to start, decided to jump in to the middle of the conversation and stop more damage from occurring. "Ranma, sneaking into a lady's room so early in the morning is not very honorable."

"Sorry Kasumi," he said, meaning his apology. However, his good intentions were immediately wiped out with the rest of his response. "I will wait until 8 from now on."

Akane threw her arms up in the air. "Wonderful! I won't have to kick out my other boyfriend in such a hurry, now."

Ranma's head snapped to face her with the most hurt look she had ever seen on him.

"That's not funny, Akane."

"What? Are you the only one allowed to have a handful of fiancées?"

Ranma slid back on the chair before standing up and pointing at her.

"Had. Had. HAD!" he said, raising his voice with every word.

"Besides, I didn't ask for them…they just…appeared. Who are you to judge me, anyway? You had all the boys at school following you, asking you for dates every morning! You forgot about that? Uhm? Kuno, Ryouga, even that freak Gosunkugi!"

Akane stared at him without saying a word, digesting the words he had just said. She saw them for what they were: words of a jealous man, words that he had not been able to utter back when they were younger. She decided to make things right again. She walked up to him and held him closer to her. He did not hug her back but his breathing began calming down with her touch.

"I'm sorry, Ranma. I know you didn't like any of those girls. And I promise you are the only boyfriend I have."

Ranma did not look at her, but stared straight in front of him at something only he could see. "It still hurt."

Akane nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry; I'll make it up to you, OK?"

Ranma's interest was piqued, finally being able to look down to stare at her.

"Really? How?"

Akane smiled. She leaned up and kissed his cheek before whispering to him.

"I will make you breakfast today."

"_Fuck."_

Lucky for Ranma, Kasumi was just finishing making breakfast as the scene unfolded in front her. She smiled to herself, grateful that her prayers had been answered, and that the couple behind her had been able to open up to each other, at last.

Seeing Kasumi was done preparing breakfast, and hearing Soun walking around in the living room, Ranma and Akane decided to help Kasumi serve the food. As they took turns taking silverware and dishes to the dining table, Kasumi remembered the errand Nodoka had asked her to run for her. She dug into her apron and took out the letter she had brought with her.

"Ranma! When I dropped off the twins at your mom's today, she told me to give you this."

Ranma stopped just long enough to grab the letter from Kasumi and continued preparing the table for them to eat. He put it inside his pocket and decided to read it after they had eaten. After a good meal and even better conversations, Soun left the room to open the dojo, allowing Ranma a few extra minutes with Akane. Kasumi headed to the kitchen to clean up after herself, while Ranma and Akane stayed behind to read the letter he had.

"Who's it from?"

"Doesn't say on the envelope."

He tore the side of the envelope and two pieces of paper came out. One was a regular sheet of paper, and the other was a poorly folded flyer. Ranma took the sheet and opened it while Akane unfolded the flyer to read it herself.

"That's strange," he said. "It's just a note."

"What does it say?"

"It says: Thought you might be interested."

"That's it?"

Ranma nodded. "What do you have?"

Akane flipped the flyer and skimmed over it. She was not sure she understood what the flyer was trying to advertise, but after a few tries, she gasped and handed it to Ranma.

"Ranma, am I reading this right?"

Ranma took the flyer from her and read it aloud.

"The National Registry of Dojos invites all non-registered dojos to its first Annual Registration Tournament, or ART."

He looked up at her and she just shrugged, being as confused as he looked. He returned his gaze to the flyer and continued reading.

"As an incentive for unlicensed dojos to join the association, the NRD is hosting a tournament in which the prize for the winning dojo would be a chance to register, free of charge."

"What?"

Ranma read the rest of the flyer before looking up to her. "It says here that the dojo that wins the tournament will be able to go through the registration process for free. If you bring your dojo structure and business plan to them, they will review it free-of-charge throughout the tournament, giving you the opportunity to fix it on the spot. If, at the end of the tournament, your dojo wins against their highest ranking registered dojo, the registration of the dojo is complete."

"Ranma…do you know what this means?"

Ranma smiled. "Yes, we have to enter, Akane! This would help us a lot."

Akane nodded, the excitement filling her body as well. "We'll have to amp up our training, but we can do it!"

"Of course we can! No one stands a chance against us!"

Akane's smile suddenly fell. Ranma frowned at her change in mood. "What's wrong?"

"Do you think your mom sent this to us?"

Ranma shook his head. "She wouldn't need to seal it. And this is not her handwriting. But, what does it matter? They are doing us a big favor letting us know."

"I guess," she stated, still unsure of its origins. She shook her head of any unreasonable thoughts before standing up. "Anyway, I gotta go. I have a test to take in a few hours."

Ranma's happiness deflated a little, knowing she was correct.

"OK. See you later tonight?"

"Yup."

He suddenly got up and ran behind her. She was almost at the stairs when he pulled her arm and pressed her against the wall next to the stairs. "Akane…"

She stared at him with a huge smile, waiting for his next words. Ranma swallowed hard, trying to gather the courage to finally tell her how he felt. He opened his mouth a few times but noting came out.

"Ranma, is everything OK?"

Ranma nodded and tried again, but he began shaking in nervousness. "Akane…I…"

Akane gave him a few more moments to get out what he wanted, but when he did not say anything more, she leaned in and kissed him. "Be careful. See you later."

Ranma could only nod as a response as he watched her walk away from him. He turned around and saw his gym bag was still on the floor, so he decided to pick it up and do his laundry while he was already here. He knew Soun could handle the dojo for a few hours without him, and he did not feel like teaching anyone just yet. He had just lost another opportunity to tell Akane how he felt, and nothing ever made his anger cling to him like that.

That night, Akane returned from her test to find the dojo already cleaned for her. The dojo would be closed for the next five days, so she rejoiced in taking a long warm bath as she saw that there indeed was light at the end of their dark tunnel.

* * *

**A/N:** That was long! Get ready for more chapters like this. Last time I wrote a trilogy, the first story had 35K words, and the last story ended up with 180K+. Hope you are ready for it! One question for everyone out there reading this: what majors do you think Akane and Ranma should go for in college?


	3. Addicting

**Chapter 2: Addicting  
**

The small kitchen at the Saotome home was filled with delicious aromas created by the two women closest to Ranma's heart. Akane stood behind Nodoka, observing her future mother-in-law taste for readiness the soup they had just finished preparing. Nodoka took a sip of the soup and made a disapproving face. She then invited Akane to have her own taste of the soup and Akane nodded to her.

"I think it needs more salt," Akane suggested.

Nodoka smiled in agreement before grabbing the bottle of salt and sprinkling a generous amount in it. She stirred it vigorously before taking another sample of the soup. "That's much better. Very good, Akane!"

Akane smiled at her mentor, knowing she would not pay her a compliment she did not mean. Both women returned to the kitchen island in the middle of the kitchen to continue preparing the side dishes of today's menu while the soup cooked. The woman had agreed to split the preparations of the side dishes, each taking on either side of the island to carry on with their preparations.

Akane took her time reading all the instructions given to her in the cookbook several times, taking special care in reading labels of ingredients to make sure she used the correct ones. She would then use measuring cups and a small scale to assure the portions were just perfect, and had made it a habit to have all the ingredients ready before she attempted to prepare a meal. She would then practice the steps by pretending to pour ingredients until she felt confident enough to take her cooking live.

Nodoka was always amused at seeing the level of concentration Akane had when cooking. After months of going through the basics of cooking, Akane had started making small, simple meals with a high-rate of success. She had mentioned to Nodoka a handful of times that during the time she watched over the Phoenix members, cooking was one of her duties to the heir. While the Phoenix would eat anything placed in front of them, she did practice many of the basic techniques for cooking without having to worry about taste. Mastering the techniques, however, did not help much when it came to preparing edible food for her fiancée.

Seeing that Akane was preparing too extensively for her own good, Nodoka thought about starting a casual conversation with her apprentice to relax her mood. "Have you had a chance to make Ranma that omelet you made me last time?" Nodoka asked her extremely cautious cook-in-learning.

Akane shook her head. "I haven't been able to convince him to let me make breakfast. I tried again yesterday morning, but Kasumi arrived with food ready to cook."

Nodoka gave her a sympathetic look before reaching over and patting her back. "It's OK. One day he will eat your cooking without even knowing and he will love it."

"I hope."

"Well, he will _have_ to, eventually. I don't think he will be able to avoid it once you're married."

Akane chuckled. "I'm not so sure about that. Leave it to Ranma to find impossible solutions to impossible problems."

Nodoka smiled. "We can speed up the process, you know? Are you sure you don't want me starve Ranma for a few days? He would eat anything!"

Akane smiled in return. "I don't think I'm that desperate, yet, Auntie Nodoka."

"Akane, I've told you to call me mom."

Akane nodded, remembering her repeated requests to do so. Even though Akane's mom had passed away years ago, she still had a difficult time referring to anyone else as a surrogate mother. Even as close as Kasumi had become to being her mother, she could not make herself use such a meaningful title with anyone else.

"I'm sorry. I forgot."

Nodoka knew there was more to just forgetting. She herself had lost her mom when she was young, and could easily understand Akane's insecurities in believing that using the title with someone other than her own mom, it would mean that she had forgotten about her.

"It's OK. I remember how I kept forgetting to call my mom as mom."

Akane looked up and gave Nodoka a confused look. Nodoka did not flinch and continued cutting the vegetables in front of her. "My mom had a car accident when I was just five. She came out of it alive, but she did not know who I was –or anyone, for that matter. The doctors told us that her brain had begun to decay, rapidly. It started with her memories, and eventually her body didn't remember how to move, or eat. The last thing in her body that forgot how to do its job was her heart, and she died in her sleep just a few months after the accident."

Akane's careful preparations were halted as she replayed Nodoka's words. She was unaware that Ranma's grandmother had passed away so young, not even having a chance to meet her grandson. _"Just as my mom won't meet hers,"_ she thought, feelings of sadness slowly filling her body.

"A few years after my mom passed, my dad got remarried. The lady she married was always very nice to me, but it was hard to call her mom. It wasn't until much later I was able to call her mom."

Akane nodded, paying special attention to her story. "What happened that you were able to call her mom?"

"I had a dream one night where my mom came to me. She looked the same I remember she looked like before the accident, but I looked much older. She told me it was OK to let go. She told me she wouldn't be mad, and that she wanted me to be happy. After I woke up, I started calling her mom and everything was OK until my parents got divorced."

The small ray of hope that had been growing inside of her immediately dissipated. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. They are on good terms, and I still see her sometimes," Nodoka said, perking up as she continued chopping vegetables.

"She married a Dojo Master here in Nerima and had kids of her own, which she never had with my dad. Actually, I visited her a few weeks ago and got to meet her son, Satoshi."

Akane froze. The name was too familiar for her liking. She tried to dismiss any opportunity that Nodoka was referring to the same Satoshi she knew from night school. She was certain there were many other guys named Satoshi who had a dojo, here in Nerima. It just could _not_ possibly be the same! Besides, why would the son of a Dojo Master have to resort to attending accelerated night school?

"You and Ranma should get together with him, you could share tips in how to get the dojo certified. Apparently his dojo is highly recognized, and both he and his dad are very good martial artists. Satoshi has been training as long as Ranma has, he didn't even get a chance to finish school!"

Akane's hope that they were talking about different people deflated. Her mind brought back the image of her initial conversation with Satoshi when they first met in night school.

_Satoshi walked inside the classroom that he would have to visit every other night for a year. He did not understand why his dad forced him to finish school, as old as he was now. He did not understand why, after all the years of focusing on training, his parents had all of a sudden done a complete turn on him, and sent him to school. He knew he was to one day inherit the dojo, so whatever he learned –or did not learn, was going to affect his abilities at carrying on their family dojo. _

_Dragging his feet, he walked over to the closest available desk and began taking out blank papers and a pencil to take notes. His pen ended up rolling off the desk, and when he reached down to pick it up, his head crashed against something, or someone, else._

"_Ouch!"_

_Satoshi looked up, massaging the sore spot on his head. His gray eyes connected with her brown ones and he forgot how to breathe for a second. _

"_I'm sorry! I saw your pen fall and tried to get it for you," the girl said as she handed the pen back to him. He grabbed the pen from her hand and nodded his gratitude. She extended her hand to him and introduced herself._

"_Hi! My name is Akane Tendo," she told the tall, brown-haired boy._

"_Tendo?"_

"_Yes. And you?"_

"_Satoshi Nakajima," he said, shaking her hand._

"_Nice to meet you."_

"_Nice to meet you, too." _

_Satoshi looked around to see if the professor was ready to start the lecture. When he saw he was not, he returned his gaze back to Akane. "So, what are you in here for?"_

_Akane laughed. "I was on vacation for longer than I should have, and missed graduation. You?"_

"_My dad beat me up, I killed him, and I just got out of prison."_

_Akane's mouth dropped, and so did her pencil. Satoshi laughed as he bent over and grabbed the pencil, leaving it on her desk. "Oh! Uhm…wow…are…you…uhm…ok, now?"_

_Satoshi laughed aloud at her response. "I'm kidding."_

"_Oh! OH!" Akane said a little bit too relieved. "I'm sorry…I just…never mind."_

"_S'OK. Actually, my dad owns a dojo and he has been training me for a few years. He forgot that school existed until I finished my training and decided to send me back here."_

_Akane nodded, understanding the situation. "It's more common than you think."_

"_Is it?"_

"_I know a guy who is going through the same thing as you."_

"_Really? How did he kill his dad?"_

_Akane tilted her head before realization hit her. "Oh! No, no! The training part!"_

"_I figured. A friend, I hope? It's hard to go through all of this, alone."_

_ "It is. But Ranma has a way to bounce right back."_

_ "Ranma? Ranma Saotome?"_

_ Akane's eyebrow rose. Had she just met another man that had Ranma's demise in mind?_

_ "Yes. Do you know him?"_

_ "I've never met him, but I've heard of him from my mom and dad. Having a dojo forces you to learn about the competition, y'know? I heard he's really good. Is it true?"_

_ Akane nodded, feeling proud Ranma's reputation preceded him. "Though, don't take my opinion as unbiased. He's my boyfriend, so I may be exaggerating a little."_

_ Akane missed Satoshi's pained look. He looked at her up and down, admiring her body –her toned body. It was not usual for him to find a girl that was pretty and knew about martial arts. When his eyes looked up again he saw she had caught him staring and was not happy that he was._

_ "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…it's just…do you, work out or something?"_

_ Akane's anger disappeared when he realized what he was thinking. After all the time she had spent training, her body had begun showing signs of muscle that girls would not usually display. Whatever muscle she had was not exaggerated, but it was not one that a girl lifting weights every now and then would attain._

_ "I guess you could say that. My dad owns a dojo, and he trained me since I was little."_

_ Satoshi could not believe his luck. How often did you encounter a girl like her? His excitement was quickly placated when he remembered she had a boyfriend, though it did not deter him from befriending her at all._

_ "We should spar sometime. I promise I will go easy on you. I don't like hitting girls."_

_ Akane smirked. "You may end having to."_

_ Satoshi opened his mouth to say something, but the professor cleared his throat to catch the students' attention. He gave Akane an apologetic smile before he turned his attention back to class. Satoshi did not believe anyone could wipe the smile off his face that night. Perhaps, going back to school was not so bad._

"Akane?" Nodoka attempted to get her attention as she had stopped chopping vegetables for a few minutes now. Akane realized she had been silent for a while before snapping her head up. The quick move made her feel dizzy and she fell on her back. The knife she had been holding slid from her hand and grazed her leg, cutting her as it fell on the floor. "Akane!"

Nodoka ran around the island and dropped to her knees, holding Akane's head up. "Kami! Are you OK?"

Akane's eyes showed she was disoriented and confused. Nodoka pulled her up and dragged her to the closest chair she could find. Once she was sure Akane would not wobble her way off the chair, she ran back to the sink and filled a glass with water for Akane. She returned to Akane who was now holding her head and helped her drink the liquid.

"Akane, are you OK? Do you want me to get Ranma?"

Akane shook her head lightly and grabbed Nodoka's arm. "No. I'm OK. Don't bother him."

Nodoka honored her request but silently questioned it. Akane had just lost consciousness for no apparent reason. She stared at her as she gathered her bearings and looked down at her leg. "Ugh! I'm bleeding."

Nodoka stared at where Akane was pointing and gasped. She ran to one of the cabinets in the kitchen and before Akane could stop her, she was on her knees cleaning up Akane's wound.

"Auntie, it's just a cut. I can take care of it."

"Nonsense. Stop moving and let me help you."

Akane sighed but did not push the matter anymore. She watched Nodoka work her magic on her leg while she recalled what had just occurred to her. She was certain that the sudden movement had caused her dizziness, but she found it very unlikely to happen again. Last night after she had finished bathing, she had become dizzy on her way to her room, forcing her to grab the wall to hold herself steady. She had blamed the change in temperature last night, but today she was not so certain.

Nodoka had cleaned her wound and was now placing a band-aid as she spoke. "Everything OK, Akane?"

"Yeah."

Nodoka stood up and stared at Akane, her incredulity seeping out of her pores.

"Akane, you can tell me the truth, you know?"

"I don't understand."

Nodoka crossed her arms and sat beside Akane. "Has Ranma been less than honorable with you?"

"What?"

Nodoka raised her eyebrows at her before staring at Akane's belly. She looked back up at Akane's face and waited a few seconds for Akane to read her gestures. Akane could feel her cheeks burning when she realized what Nodoka was implying. She shook her head vigorously to make her point.

"NO! We've just been staying up late at night. I must be tired, that's all"

Nodoka smiled again, reading too much into Akane's words. When Akane realized the idea that was crossing Nodoka's mind, she amended her statement.

"STUDYING! We have been studying! We have the final exams coming up in a few weeks and we have been studying almost every night."

Nodoka did not respond but she did not believe Akane either. It would not surprise her that the couple had been exploring other areas of their relationship, given how close they both had been to death. She nodded to Akane and got up, taking the first aid kit back to its usual place.

Akane could not look at Nodoka without blushing, so she decided she was going to speed up the cooking process and get away from her as soon as she could. Akane returned to her side of the island and began carrying on her plan. Nodoka returned to the island as well and cleared her throat. "So, you guys are almost done with school?"

Akane nodded, grateful for the change in topic. "Yup, I can't wait to get that time off."

"I hope Ranma learned something after all those days studying so late."

"I think he did."

A long comfortable silence engulfed them again until Nodoka spoke once more. "Akane, is there a human anatomy section in the final test?"

"I think so, why?"

"No reason," she lied. "I'm just certain that both of you will pass that section with flying colors."

Akane swallowed hard, not daring to say anything else. A few minutes later, Akane found herself running away from the kitchen as fast as she could, telling Nodoka she had to find Ranma to talk about something very important, for the rest of the day.

_"I'm sure you do,"_ thought Nodoka with a smile.

xxxXXXxxx

Ranma sat at his desk in his room, in front of a laptop, reading the details regarding the ART event. Akane sat on his bed, papers scattered all over the place as she tried to begin creating the structure of the business plan of the dojo. Akane was growing frustrated at how complex this really was, and knew they did not have much time to prepare. It seemed that their graduation victory would be short-lived due to replacing the time in school with the time needed to prepare for the tournament.

"Hey, Akane?"

"Mmh?"

"It says here that we gotta take five students with us to the tournament."

"What?"

Ranma growled. "Yeah, the limit for Masters is one per dojo, so only one of us can register as the Master. There is room for one trainer, and five students. So…"

Akane stood up from his bed and walked to him. She stood behind him and read the same information on the NRD's website, and sighed. "Great. How do we decide who plays what?"

"I think you should be the trainer."

"What? Why? You think I'm not good enough to be the Dojo Master?"

"No, Akane. I didn't _say_ that! I just think that it'd be best if you stayed away from the fights, for now."

Akane's face reddened in anger. Here he was, after everything they had gone through, and he still did not believe she could fight as good as he could. She crossed her arms and walked towards his bed. She sat on it, crossed her legs and stared at Ranma with the worst face of anger she could muster.

Ranma realized the fight was not over, so he closed the laptop. He rolled his chair towards her and rested his forearms on his legs. "It's not what you think?"

Akane's frown deepened. "What do you think I'm thinking it is?"

"I don't think you can't handle those bozos. It ain't that at all. I just…would feel better if you didn't have to fight."

"Ranma, I'm at the same level you are. I have as much right as you do to represent the dojo as its Master."

"I know, I know. More than me, even, I know. But, please. Please understand me."

"Understand what? That you want to go there and show off your skills to a bunch of wannabes?"

"No, Akane, listen."

"NO! You listen! I took down Saffron on my own! Why don't you give me enough credit?"

"It's not about you!"

"No, it's about you and your big macho head not coping with the fact that maybe, _maybe_, I can kick your ass!"

"Akane! Why do you always jump to conclusions? I just…"

"You just what?"

_"I just love you so much I don't want anyone laying a finger on you,"_ he thought, upset that he was still unable to speak those words to her. When Ranma did not explain himself, she pushed him away from her and started her way out of the room. "Akane, wait!" he said as he stood up.

"No."

"Akane, will you stop being so stubborn? Have you stopped to wonder that maybe it's not about who's best?"

Akane stopped and turned around, taking long strides to reach him, standing on her toes to be as close to his face as she could. "Then, tell me, Mr. Self-Appointed Dojo Master? What's it about?"

Ranma swallowed hard. Why was she being so problematic? He was going to be the Dojo Master anyway, when they married. Why was it so difficult for her to understand?

He opened his mouth again to try to explain his feelings for her, but for the nth time, nothing came out. Akane nodded in an angry way before sighing and turning around away from him. She opened the door to leave his room, but Ranma had reached her already, slamming the door shut with his left hand, just a few feet above her. He placed his right hand on her waist and rested his forehead on the back of her head. Akane fought the urge of kicking him away and took deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Too long."

Akane frowned at his response, not quite understanding what he meant.

"I've been without you for too long. After you sent me back, I did nothing but wait for you. I waited for you every day. Every. Day. For a whole year. I had given up hope that you had survived. I blamed myself for it. I thought I had killed you again. I thought I'd let you down."

"Ranma," she began, but Ranma was not letting her stop him.

"No, wait. Let me get it out."

She allowed him.

"Then, you appeared in front of me, out of nowhere. You're here now. You're safe. I _want_ to keep you safe. Please understand," he begged as he held her tighter. "I don't doubt your strength, Akane. But you _don't_ have to fight my fights. You have nothing to prove to me or anyone, anymore. _I_ have to prove myself to you, now. Let me prove myself to you. Let me keep you safe. Those guys there, they aren't fucking around. The prize is just too great. And if they, _any_ of them, dare so much as to _breathe_ at you, I _will_ kill them."

Akane closed her eyes, pained at the words he had just said. She could not believe how he had gotten so much anger and insecurity bottled up inside. Then again, anger and insecurity always come hand in hand. She clenched her fists and bit her lip to keep her from crying. She wanted to turn around and punch him. She wanted to scream at him, tell him that he had nothing to prove. Tell him that he was being ridiculous and that he could not just go on with his life, trying to break the neck of any man –or woman, who looked at her the wrong way. She knew he had to stop this obsession of his to keep anything from happening to her. He would not be able to live his life, if he continued clinging to that notion.

Ranma did not dare to move. He did not know what to expect from her. Would she finally understand how he felt, or would she misunderstand his words, twist them, and scream at him. He hated not knowing. He hated the fact that it was never easy around her. He had hoped that their last mishap would have made her more understanding of his possessiveness towards her, but he was still not sure. Some days they were the most mature young adults they could be, and some days they regressed four years and acted like the two unsure teenagers they had been in the past.

After the longest wait for him, she turned around and hugged him. He did not hesitate to return the gesture, embracing her with all his strength. She continued to hold back her tears, making her shake with the effort. Ranma did not make a comment, but he could feel her tremble in his arms. Akane felt guilty as charged. Why was it so difficult for her to see his actions for what they were? It was as if her anger filter was always enabled for everyone, except him. She had been working on not blowing up his words or actions out of proportion, but she knew she still had a long way to go.

They remained standing in each other's arms for a while. Afraid to break the mood, Ranma began humming a nameless song and slowly began swaying his hips, attempting to entice her to do the same. She smiled as she followed his lead and danced to a random tune orchestrated by him, never letting go of him as she did. After a while, she finally pushed herself away from him and cupped his face in her hands. "Mr. Saotome, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you are trying to seduce me."

Ranma scratched his nose. "Now, what would give you that idea?"

Akane laughed, easing Ranma's fears from just moments ago. She led him back to the laptop and opened it up for him. He took the cue and sat down to continue his research of the tournament as she returned to her own task. After a few moments of silence, Ranma turned to her to get her attention once more.

"Are you staying tonight?"

Akane considered the opportunity. For all technical purposes, they were free to do as they pleased for the next few days. Other than preparing for the tournament and their final exams, the school and dojo tending were out of their lives for a week. Genma and Soun had offered to watch over the dojo until their final exams were over. Even though Ranma was more likely to sneak into her room in the middle of the night, Akane had mimicked his actions a few times, surprising the heck out of him the first time she attempted it. After that one-time scare, he hoped she would do the same more often, as he always rested better knowing she was close by.

Akane was ready to accept his invitation when she suddenly remembered her earlier conversation with Nodoka. "Sorry, not for a while."

"Why not? Are you still mad?"

"No. But your mom may be watching over us more than usual."

"What? What did I do?"

"You are, in her own words, being less than honorable."

Ranma shrugged and raised his hands, showing his lack of understanding. "How?"

"She thinks I'm pregnant."

Ranma was taken aback. He gave her a long, hard look before staring at her belly. "Are you?"

Akane scoffed. "No."

"Would it be so bad? I mean, if you were?"

It was Akane's turn to flinch. She felt the heat rise to her face and knew she was as red as the tomato she had been cutting earlier today. She pulled her collar, suddenly feeling really hot for some reason. "What are you saying?"

Ranma shrugged. "Nothing in particular. It's just, when I got stuck being you and girl-me, I didn't think I'd be able to have kids. I guess that saying that you never know what you've got until you lose it is true, uh?"

"Guess so," she said, calming down. Kids? She had not thought about kids since she was sixteen. It could be because she had been busy thinking about other things, such as ways to keep herself alive. Maybe someday she would have kids, and maybe they would be Ranma's.

"So, you sure you ain't staying? It's getting cold out there. I don't want you to get sick."

Akane tilted her head. "I'm sorry, Ranma, but I really shouldn't. Do you mind walking me home, though?"

Ranma perked up. "Not at all, but let's try and finish as much as we can on this. I don't wanna spend our days off doing this every day."

Akane nodded in agreement, returning to her work. Ranma returned to working on his laptop and registered the dojo to attend the tournament. He then proceeded to make reservations for the hotel rooms they would be staying in for the duration of ART, as it would be taking place away from the Nerima district. He requested the reservations and tickets to be sent to Akane's home so that they did not have to worry about finding a place to print the information on.

"Do you want to get there in a bus or a train?"

Akane shrugged. It did not matter to her. As long as they arrived on time, they could walk there for all she cared.

"Your call."

"Ok," he said as he reserved train tickets. "Do you want a window or aisle seat?"

Akane shrugged again, trying her best to finish the first draft of the business plan despite Ranma's repetitive requests for input. "It doesn't matter."

Ranma's lips tightened at her lack of interest in his side of the preparations for the tournament. He stared at her as she wrote nonstop on the sheets of paper she had, stopping only to read the description of what the business plan should be composed of. He wondered how she could have gone from indifferent to happy to mad to sad to happy and back to indifferent in just a few moments. It had to be a woman thing he was so happy he would never have to deal within him anymore.

When he realized she was too engrossed in her part of the task, he gave up trying to get her input and returned his full attention to completing the reservation process. After he was done with that, he made a list of potential students they could take with them to the tournament, ranging from young teens to older adults who had shown to be good at the art. He had narrowed it to 10 students, and handed the list to Akane for review.

She eyed the list for a few minutes and ranked the students based on their skills and discipline. She handed the list back to Ranma with her notes.

"You didn't get rid of anyone? We can only take five."

"I know. But we don't even know if these kids' parents would let them go with us to another district for a few days," she said, referring to the underage students that remained at the top of the list. "We need some backups."

"Oh! You're right! I didn't even think about that," he said as he eyed the list. "So, what do we do?"

Akane taped her lips with her index finger, thinking how they were going to pull this off. "Well, why don't we tell the students about the tournament? This way we can tell their parents and see if they would be interest in letting them come with us? Go ahead and create a permission slip to have it ready, and we'll tell the students next time we see them. We still have a few weeks to decide, so we have time."

Ranma showed his agreement with their plan and returned to the laptop to work on a permission slip. Akane began putting the draft of their business plan in order, labeling each page with their corresponding number. Before either of them realized, the sun had gone down, and midnight had arrived.

Ranma stood up to stretch his back after hours of sitting staring at a computer screen. He looked outside and realized the day had already left them. He then turned around and read his clock, showing the time.

"Shit! Akane! We lost track of time!"

"What?" She stood up and grabbed the alarm clock, screaming as she did. "Oh, no! My dad will be worried!"

Ranma stood up and began putting away her notes and cleaning his bed, telling her they had worked enough for one day. "Come on, 'Kane. Why don't you call him and tell him you won't be coming home. It's late."

Akane shook her head. "No, Ranma. I have to go. I can't leave my dad alone."

He smirked at her comment before he replied. "Never stopped you before when you walked in here all those times, trying to take advantage of me and all."

Akane did not comment on his implication and opted to let him know she was serious about not staying tonight. Even as much as she wanted to, Nodoka's words kept ringing in her mind.

"This time is different. He knows that I'm not home."

She helped Ranma finish cleaning his room before following him downstairs to gather her things before leaving. She put her coat on as well as her shoes, and he did the same. He placed a hand on the doorknob but did not open the door. He looked behind him and saw Akane was all bundled up, ready to go. "I'll call your dad, Akane. I'll explain it to him. You don't have to go out there tonight."

"Ranma, just drop it. If you don't want to walk me, I can walk myself," she argued as her hand reached to remove his hand from the knob. He grabbed it tighter and pressed his back against the door. "I thought we'd agreed you wouldn't jump to conclusions, Akane."

Akane sighed. "Yes," she began showing her exasperation. "I did. I'm not. I just…I need to go. OK?"

Ranma stared at her but did not move out of her way. She waited for Ranma to step aside but he was not done interrogating her.

"Is there something wrong that you ain't telling me?"

"What?" she asked she removed her hand from the knob. She fixed her bangs as a result of her nervousness and she stared at the floor. "Why do you say that?"

"Since when are you in such a hurry to go? Did my mom offend you? I'll talk to her."

"No, Ranma. She didn't…She didn't say anything that wasn't true."

"Y-you mean, you_ are_ pregnant?"

"Ugh, no, you idiot! I'm not!" she said, her voice rose just a tad much.

"Then what's the problem? Cuz if you are, it wouldn't be…."

"The end of the world, I know. I get that."

"So?"

"It's just. Well, we aren't married yet, you know."

"Aaannnddd?"

"And, we've done things we shouldn't have. I just want to take it slow. That's all."

Ranma pursed his lips, knowing exactly what she was talking about. He scratched his head, thinking of the correct words to say to her. Determining that he did not have all the information he needed to help her, he probed for more.

"Do you regret them?"

"What? No! I…I liked them…"

"Do you think I don't respect you?"

"No. I mean, I hope you still do."

"I do. And, to be honest, I liked them too. Do you not respect me?"

Akane shook her head. "How can you think that, Ranma? Don't be silly."

"So, you just feel guilty about whatever my mom blabbed about?"

Akane nodded. Ranma chuckled at her defeated stance, walking closer to her and grabbing her hand. "Why do you care so much what she says? She, and Pops –and even your dad, they are just trying to keep us in line. But, bottom line is that what we do with our time is up to us. Are you ashamed of us?"

"No."

"So? Akane," he began, letting of her hand and using his own to lift her face to stare at him. "People will talk, regardless of what we do or don't do. This is about us, not them. Besides, this is all your fault, you know?"

Akane's eyes widened at his revelation. He was aiming for anger to get her out of her mopping, but his joke backfired in his face when he saw her eyes glisten with tears. _"Shit! Way to go, you idiot."_

"Hey! No tears! Joke, it was a joke! Come on! Come on ask me why it's your fault."

Akane sniffed controlling her tears and asked him the question between sniffles. Ranma responded by grabbing her left hand and placing it on his shoulder. He then grabbed her right hand in his and kissed her knuckles. "It's all your fault I can't get enough of you. You're so _addicting_."

Akane gave him the brightest smile he had ever stolen from her. She sniffled a few more times, causing Ranma to dig into his pocket and offer her his handkerchief. She took it and stared at it before using it to clean herself. "Is this the one?"

Ranma nodded. "Yup. It's the one I gave you as a gift that Christmas, which you ended up giving back to me after you embroidered my name on it."

Akane flipped the handkerchief and saw he was correct. "Is this the same one you took to China?"

"Psh, are you kidding? And risk losing it? Nope, I kept it here."

Akane placed it inside her coat and promised Ranma he would get it back after she washed it.

"Don't worry about it. Now, let's get you home."

"Ok."

The couple brazed for the cold weather outside. Ranma pulled Akane closer to him to keep her as warm as he could. The first few signs of a snowstorm begun falling on them, so they picked up their pace. When the snowstorm began picking up, he stopped and lifted Akane in his arms.

"Hang on, Akane!"

Before she could respond or complain, he began jumping on rooftops and running on fences with her in his arms. Akane closed her eyes and held as hard as she could to him, feeling the cold wind bounce of his chest and away from her. After a few minutes, he arrived at the entrance of the Tendo residence. The storm picked up more and he decided to jump the fence with her and did not let her go until he was at the entrance porch of the home. Akane quickly searched for her keys and opened the door, allowing both of them to go inside.

"Holy crap! Was it waiting 'til we got out? Jeez!"

Akane shivered as she took off her coat and hung it on the coat hanger near the door. She peaked outside through the window and saw that the storm was not going anywhere any time soon. She caught Ranma putting his hood back on as he readied to face the storm again. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Ranma pointed outside. "Uhm, I'm getting ready to go back home?"

"No, you aren't," she said as she locked the door, trying to make her point that she was not going to let him go anywhere.

"Uh, Akane, you do know I can just flip that and unlock it, right?"

"That's not the point! There is no way I'm letting you go back now."

"Oh, come on! It's just a quick storm. I've been through worse."

"No. Absolutely not. You're staying right here."  
Ranma smirked at the sudden –and convenient, reversal of their roles. "I see how it is."

"Oh, don't you give me that, mister. This is completely different! If the storm wasn't there, you could have gone home without me worrying you'd freeze to death."

Ranma smiled at her and taped her nose. "Ah! So, you're worried about me, eh?"

Akane blushed. Even after all these years, showing her feelings for him sometimes still made her feel like she was sixteen again. "What is it Akane? You love me too much to see me turned into a Popsicle?"

Akane lowered her head. She walked to the window and rested her left hand on the glass, measuring how fast the temperature was dropping. She could not allow Ranma to run back to his home in this storm after he just got her through it.

"I do."

Ranma was not expecting this response, and while she had not come out and said it, it was closer than he had gotten so far to tell her he loved her. He reached out to her but he ended up clenching his fist and put both his hands back in his pockets. Again, Akane was one-step ahead of him.

"Akane?"

"Yes?"

"Do you…want to…go out with me?"

Akane turned around and saw him fidgeting, a small tint of red on his cheeks.

"Do you mean, on a date?"

Ranma nodded. Akane could not believe her ears. Before she realized how bad the situation had become in her absence and decided to do something about it, she had pictured her and Ranma going out on their first official date within the first days of her arrival. However, her attempts to fix the lives that had been affected when she was away had taken longer than she thought. Even though she and Ranma had been dating more officially now, they still had not gone on a real date, ever.

"I mean, only if you want to. You don't have to, you know? I just thought that since we've got time off, we could…"

"OK."

"I understand that you don't want to."

"Ranma, I said yes."

"Yes, I will be OK. We can do that later and…wait, you said yes?"

Akane nodded. "Well, duh? Why wouldn't I want to go on a date with my fiancée?"

Ranma sighed, visibly relieved she had accepted. "Ok, then, I will pick up you up tomorrow at noon."

"You mean we will leave tomorrow at noon from here. You're still staying here."

"But, how is that gonna be a real date?"

Akane walked up to him and gave him a kiss, effectively shutting him up. "Surprise me."

She removed the coat from him and hung it next to hers. She then turned off the light of the hall and made her way up to her room. Ranma stared at her, his mind racing with ideas to make tomorrow the best date she'd ever had before following her to her room.

* * *

**A/N:** Man, that was hard! Thank you all for reading, reviewing and subscribing to the story. I got some very good ideas regarding the majors Ranma and Akane could be in college, and I have a few finalists on the list. The next chapter will be about Ranma and Akane's date. Where do you think they should go? See you in the next chapter, titled _Alluring_. ^_^


	4. Alluring

**Chapter 3: Alluring  
**

Akane's eyes fluttered open when she felt the rays of the sun hit her face. Other than the remaining snow left on rooftops and on some streets, no one would have known that a snowstorm had hit the streets of Nerima last night. She looked around her room and saw that she had overslept as she realized the sun was coming in full-blown, causing her to curse under her breath. She turned around, expecting to see Ranma curled up behind her, but was sad to see he was nowhere near. She looked at the clock on her stand, which read half past eight, before standing up and stretching her arms.

Not a second after she dropped her arms onto her sides, her stomach pushed its contents up. She covered her mouth with both hands before running to the bathroom and emptying what seemed to her as anything and everything she had eaten in the last week. After coughing air back into her lungs, she flushed the toilet, washed her mouth and brushed her teeth, trying her best to remove the taste of bile from her tongue.

After she finished, she placed her hands on the edge of the sink, holding the weight of her trembling body. She closed her eyes and took in deep breaths, feeling the morning dizziness she had experienced almost every day for a few days now, come back to her. Once she felt she had a hold of her bearings again, she open the faucet and splashed water on her face before staring at her reflection in the mirror. She mindlessly grabbed a towel to dry her face and hands and then returned it to the rack. She stared at her open palms as she began silently counting something with her fingers. At the end of her counting, she frowned and attempted her counting again.

"_It's nothing. I'm just stressed. Just, stressed."_

She repeated the same mantra to herself as she returned to her room. She walked to her closet, opened the door, and began searching for the perfect outfit for her date with Ranma today.

On the other side of Nerima, Ranma finished eating breakfast at his home. He had snuck out of Akane's room before the sun came up, and returned back home to gather a fresh set of clothes for his date with Akane, and begin the preparations of the day he had planned for the both of them. He took the last bite of his breakfast, picked up the dish and glass, and dropped them in the sink as his mother walked inside the kitchen.

She saw Ranma washing the dishes he had used and shook her head. She had told him several times that she could handle the matters of the kitchen, but Ranma never listened to her. He had told her several times that he was not a slob, and that he could clean after himself, earning Nodoka the sense that her son was as manly as they come. She headed to the refrigerator and opened it to take out ingredients to make Genma –and Soun who had dropped by, something to eat, and her eyes caught sight of the fresh bouquet of roses inside the fridge.

"What are those doing there?"

Ranma stopped drying the dishes he had just washed and walked up to see what she was pointing at. "Oh! They're for Akane. We're going out today."

"I see," she said as she gathered what she needed and closed the refrigerator door. "Did you get those before or _after_ you were at her house last night?"

Ranma, who would have usually flinched and blushed at such comment, became slightly irate at his mother. If it had been any other day, he would have stuttered a lame response before placing some reasonable distance between him and the object of his embarrassment, but today things were different. The memory of Akane's reaction last night to his mother's words came to him, making him upset that Akane had to put up with similar comments to the one his mother had just made.

"After. I wanted them to be as fresh as possible."

Nodoka blinked in surprise at his bold response, and his lack of attempt at denying he had done what she had implied in her question. Like him, she had expected him to mumble something unintelligible and haul-ass away from the kitchen. "Are you planning on staying there again tonight?"

By then, Ranma had finished drying the dishes and was now facing his mom, displaying a relaxed stance with the exception of his crossed arms. "It depends on how the date goes. If Akane wants me to stay, I'll stay."

Nodoka wrinkled her nose, trying not to show her disapproval at his actions. She did not know if he meant them, or if he was deliberately trying to upset her with his words.

"And what if Soun doesn't approve?"

"Then I'll bring her over here."

"And, what if your dad or I don't approve of that either."

"Then you will have to get over it while we stay somewhere else."

Nodoka's anger rose. She never thought trying to keep Ranma and Akane out of unnecessary trouble would prove to be difficult. "Where? In some sort of hotel, as if she was a prostitute? That is _not_ very _manly_ of you, _Ranma_."

Ranma narrowed his eyes at his mom. He could not understand what she was trying to accomplish with this conversation. Was this the reason why Akane had been so upset yesterday? Had his mom dared to call her a prostitute to her face? His and her parents had been the ones to engage them before they had been born. _They_ had been the ones to push for marriage any time they could. Why were they so surprised at how close he and Akane had become after their feelings were finally out in the open for anyone and everyone to see?

"Are you calling my fiancée a whore? That is _not_ very _motherly_ of you, _Nodoka_."

Nodoka gasped. Even though she had not been involved in most of Ranma's life, she still felt she had the right to point out to Ranma what she believed was not the right thing to do. She also believed that he had no right to talk to her as he had just done so. She walked up to him, all attempts to mask her anger, gone. She lifted her hand, aimed it at his cheek, but it never connected with his face.

She stared at his hand, stopping her from hitting him. He was not hurting her, but he was placing enough strength to prevent her from finishing her attempt at exercising her authority on him. "Any other day, I'd let you hit me, mom; I probably earned it. But not today. I don't want my girlfriend wondering why my face is red."

"Whatever it is that you two are doing, you've got to stop. We have a responsibility of honor with the Tendos. We can't allow our honor to be tainted by you getting Akane pregnant before you are wed."

"What if I told you she already was?"

"W-what?"

Ranma let go of her hand when he sensed she was not going to try to slap him again. She took a step back, looking around for something to do with her hands so she would not choke her son to death with her bare hands. She remembered that Genma and their guest were waiting for breakfast, so she pushed Ranma out of her way as she began washing her hands to begin cooking for her husband.

"I certainly hope you are joking, Ranma. If you really love her, you will respect her and stay away from doing…_that_…until after you marry her."

"I don't think any of you have any say on that. What's it gonna take for you to wrap your head around it?"

Nodoka finished washing her hands and walked to the counter to start chopping the ingredients she needed. "And what is it going to take for you to wrap your head around the consequences of your actions? I know both of you are young; I used to be young, too. But with everything that is going on, do you think a baby will make things easier on either of you, or us?"

Ranma snorted. "I know _that_. But, the point I'm trying to make is that whether or not Akane and I have, or will, sleep together, is not your business to know. Stop berating her about it."

"I don't know what you mean."

Ranma growled and pressed his body against Nodoka, towering above her in a threatening stance.

"You know _damn_ well what I'm talking about. You may be my mother, but that doesn't give you the right to tell what to do, anymore. You'll always be my mom, but Akane will be my wife. And as my wife, I will keep her away from harm, even if the harm comes from you."

Nodoka stared at him, speechless at his actions and words. She knew Ranma had a problem hitting women, especially if he was in any way related to them, so she knew he was not truly going to physically harm her. However, the shock of seeing her always emotionally aloof son speak such angry words at her, left her looking as if she was actually afraid of being hurt.

When Ranma saw the fear in his mother's eyes, a small feeling of guilt engulfed him. He sighed as he pulled himself away from her and made his way to the fridge to gather the flowers inside. He held them securely under his arm as he walked out of the kitchen.

Nodoka had not moved from her position and just stared at him as he left, stopping at the door for a moment to end the conversation he had just had with her. "I don't want to hear that you've upset Akane again. If you do, I will…"

He was unable to finish his sentence, as he was not sure himself what he would do. He walked to the entrance where his gym bag had held the items he would be using for the day. He picked it up, and as he did, he saw an envelope on it that had not been there before. He flipped it over and read that whatever was inside it was addressed to him, again with no sender's address. He placed the envelope inside his shirt and made his way out of his home, slamming the door as he did. He took a deep breath as he began his walk to Akane's home, replacing his angry thoughts with pleasant ones that involved the plans he had for her today.

Akane's thoughts, however, were unpleasant regarding the events to take place today. She had gone through her closet twenty times, and nothing she found was good enough for today. She decided to put on a pair of loose-fitting pants, a turtleneck and a hooded sweater before she slammed shut the closet doors. She picked up her purse and shoes on the way out of her room, and ran out of her home, heading straight to Nerima's shopping district to find a decent outfit for the day.

Had she slowed down just a tad, she would have seen Ranma make a turn at the corner of the street, arriving to the Tendo residence just a few moments after she had left. Ranma walked inside and called for Akane as soon as he stepped into the hallway. When he did not hear a response, he tried again as he walked around the premises, opening doors and calling her name. When he was certain she was not around, and that the home was empty, he continued his preparations for their date today.

He walked to the kitchen and emptied the contents of his gym bag on the table. He placed the bouquet of flowers inside the fridge and took out the ingredients he needed for the first stop of their date. He spent an hour in the kitchen before he filled a wicker basket with the food he had just prepared, and other items that he knew they would later need. He spent a few minutes making space inside the fridge to store the basket before picking up the almost empty gym bag, took out the envelope from his shirt, and headed upstairs to his old room.

He did not know when Akane would return, but looking at the clock, he saw that their date would be starting in less than two hours, so she would have to be coming back anytime soon. He dropped the bag in his room and took out the clothes he was going to wear to his date, and hung them inside the closet. He then kicked the bag inside the closet to keep it out of view, and dropped the envelope on it before leaving the room.

He headed to the bathroom and quickly showered. Not ten minutes later, Ranma was back in his room, already dressed to impress Akane, and sat on the floor of the room holding the envelope in his hands. He tore the envelope open, expecting to see another flyer and a random note, but this time only one piece of paper came out.

He unfolded the paper and saw the note was longer this time around.

_Ranma,_

_I see that my earlier note found you well enough to sign up for the ART. I feel it's my responsibility to let you know that you won't be the only martial artist with a chance to win. Don't take anyone there for granted, especially __**him**__. I hope to see you there._

Ranma read the note a few more times, but could not determine the origin of it. The note had not been signed, just as the previous one. He folded the paper again and stuffed it back in the envelope. He dropped the envelope in the bag at the closet and headed downstairs.

He looked at the clock again, and it now read 10:30 a.m. If he wanted to be ready in time, he would have to leave now. He walked to the kitchen and tore a piece of paper from the notepad on the fridge. He grabbed the closest pen he could find and wrote a note. Once he finished, he ran to Akane's room, left it on her desk, and ran back to the kitchen. He took out the flowers and basket from the fridge before heading out of the kitchen and the Tendo home, making his way to the destination of the beginning of the eventful day.

Had he waited just a couple of minutes, he would have seen Akane make the corner down the street, just as he had before. She arrived at the entrance and opened the front door, knowing she had left it unlocked. Her hands held a few bags with the items she had bought, so she used her back to open the door. The first thing she did was call for her dad, and then for Ranma.

When she heard no response, she headed upstairs to her room and dropped the bags on the floor. She returned to the hallway and walked around in her home, knocking on doors before opening them and calling out her dad's and fiancée's names. Certain that no one was home, she headed to the bathroom to take a bath. She had less than an hour to get ready, and she did not want to be late for her first date with Ranma. Her stomach churned at the thought.

_"Ranma and I are finally going out on a date! After all this time."_

She finished her bath and brushed her teeth again, as she still held the same revolting taste on her tongue. She wrapped a towel around herself and returned to her room to get ready. She grabbed the bags she had left on the floor and flipped their contents on her bed. After tearing tags and opening boxes, she placed the ensemble on her bed, taking a moment to admire it.

After a few failed attempts, she had settled for a long-sleeved black dress, made of a thick fabric that would keep her cool enough during the hottest part of the winter day, but warm enough during the early hours of the night. She did not know how long their date would last, but she did not want her apparel to be the reason it could be cut short. The dress had a pattern of colorful horizontal lines across her chest, which extended to the immediate side of the sleeves, but not all throughout the sleeves. The dress stopped right above her knees, allowing her to wear knee-height heeled red boots. The dress had a thick red belt that hugged her waist, accenting how small it had gotten over the last few years. The final touch of the dress was the V-neck it sported which allowed some cleavage to show. She chuckled, knowing the neck would be the only aspect of the dress Ranma would remember for years to come.

After she finished dressing, she sat in front her desk and pulled the small mirror she had. She took a few minutes to apply light make up and comb her short hair. She then grabbed a few bills, rolled them up and placed them inside her bra. She did not feel like carrying a purse or a wallet, so she felt her bra was the safest place for money to be carried around. Once she was done and she checked herself in the mirror one last time, she saw that she had overlooked a small note.

She grabbed it and immediately recognized the chicken scratch writing which belonged to Ranma.

_Akane,_

_ Meet me at the canal at noon._

_Love,_

_Ranma_

Akane's fingers stroked over the word _love_. Thinking about the real meaning of him signing the note that way made her smile like an idiot. Neither of them had said the l-word to each other, but she knew that both felt the same way. Ranma was never a man of words, but a man of actions, and his actions –especially as of lately, had told her all she needed to know.

_"Wouldn't hurt to actually hear it, though,"_ she thought, knowing that she was guilty of the same crime. Maybe she should be the one to say it first. Maybe, if she opened up to him regarding it, Ranma would feel more compelled to say it too. She quickly dismissed her thoughts when she realized she had fifteen minutes to make it to the canal they walked by everyday on their way to school.

She left the note at her desk before speeding out of the room and the home. A few minutes after she had begun her travel, she arrived at the canal. She took deep breaths to calm her demeanor, taking small steps as she stared in front of her. She did not immediately see Ranma, and frowned. Had she been too late? Too early? Was he hiding in the shadows?

Her questions were answered when she looked up and saw him smiling, just a few feet away from her, standing on the fence. His smile widened when he saw she had seen him. "Just like ol' times, eh, Akane?"

Akane nodded but did not speak. If they had planned on matching outfits, it would have not worked as well as it seemed to work right now. He wore a pair of black pants and a red, long-sleeved dress shirt. A thin black tie hung from his neck, completing his choice of simple yet fitting clothes. The tie flitted in the air as he jumped down from the fence to stand next to her.

Ranma stared at her up and down, clearly liking what he was seeing. His eyes lingered on her chest for a couple seconds longer than he would have liked being caught seeing before he cleared his throat and bowed down to Akane. "You look exceptionally lovely today, madam."

Akane giggled as she walked to him and grabbed his tie to pull him down closer to her. "You're not so bad to look at either, sir," she said before planting a quick kiss on his lips.

Ranma enjoyed the kiss while it lasted, pushing himself away after it and going around Akane. Without a warning, he carried her bridal style and jumped on the fence. "The menu today is light for an entrée, but it is accompanied by the wonderful view."

Akane followed his eyes to stare at what he was looking at. Ranma lowered both of them to the other side of the fence and walked with her in his hands towards the spot of their date. She gasped as he carefully placed her down and admired her response to his surprise.

"Ranma, this is…did you…?"

Ranma nodded.

In front of them lay a red blanket on the grass, away from the remnants of the snow. On the blanket were several items typical of a picnic meal, wicker basket and all. In the middle of the blanket was a tray, which held sandwiches, carefully cut into triangles and stacked in different positions to resemble an _orderly_ disorder of bread and meats. There also were a few bowls with chips, sauce and fresh fruit. A small ice chest held bottles of water and soda pop. A couple of linen napkins were set aside, next to the silverware and dishes to serve the food on. On top of all that was edible on the blanket, a bouquet of red roses lay on the side, and unlit candles surrounded the already crowded piece of fabric.

Akane covered the sides of her face with her hands, too shocked for words. Knowing that he had made the first impression he was aiming for, he placed a hand on her back and led her to sit on the blanket to begin their feast. He sat next to her and waited for her to speak.

"Ranma, this is just…beautiful. When did you do this? Is this why you left me in the morning?"

"Yup. I couldn't let you see it early, now could I? I hope you're not too mad at me for leaving without saying a word."

"No, of course not. Wow!"

"I hope you aren't that hungry. This s'posed to be a light snack to get us going for the day."

"It's fine with me."

Ranma held one of the candles to light up. He looked under the linen, inside the basket and even patted himself. He realized he_ had_ forgotten something after all. "Dammit, I'm sorry Akane, I forgot matches."

Angry at himself, he hit the side of his head, not understanding how something so simple could have been left behind. He had an image in his head of candles surrounding their lunch, and now the image was ruined by his forgetfulness. Seeing how hard he was taking the small detail, Akane grabbed the candle from his hand, immediately getting his attention.

"I think I can help."

Ranma's face lit up. "Did you bring matches?"

"No," she said, seeing his face fall again before she spoke. "But I don't need them."

"What?"

She placed the candle in front of her, so that the wick was facing up. She extended her left arm away from her, in a straight line. Her right hand closed to form a fist, and she held her arm close to her heart. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Ranma frowned to show his confusion with her stance. In a few seconds, Akane's aura began to shine red, and he could feel energy being absorbed by her body. Before he could make anything else out of it, he saw the aura intensify in her left hand as it began traveling down her arm, through her chest and down her other arm. She then opened her eyes and opened her fist to show a small ball of fire floating inside her palm.

"Akane! There's…." Ranma said, afraid for her and confused at what he was seeing.

She handled the small ball of fire in her palm by joining both her hands and when she separated them again, both of her hands held a small source of fire on each. She manipulated the energy to run to her index fingers, making it seem as if Akane's finger had turned into a lighter. She carefully used her fingers to light the candles around her. Once she was certain the candles would remain lit, she clasped her hands together and the fire disappeared.

She lifted her head to face her fiancée. Shock could not begin to describe the man who had almost seen it all. He made haste to grab her hands in his and looked for burn wounds. When he found none, he looked back at her, his mouth open but no sound coming out.

"Some of the magic from the Phoenix members remains in me. Not the powerful one, mind you, but the more…shall I say, _practical_ one?"

"No shit," he said, unable to say anything else. He had no idea she could create or manipulate fire like this. What else had she not told him? Were there other tricks she had up her sleeve? Ranma came to the quick conclusion that this woman in front of him, _his_ woman, just simply amazed him. To any stranger, she surely looked so innocent, so fragile, and so carefree. He, however, knew the real Akane. The Akane that made his heart beat faster when she was near him. The Akane that made him shiver in pleasure when she roamed her hands all over him. The Akane that would always put everyone's needs and wants before hers, even at the cost her own life. The Akane that, somehow, had single-handedly defeated the greatest and most powerful enemy either of them had ever fought. The woman that he was engaged to; the woman he was going to make his wife.

Akane began fidgeting under his scrutinizing look. She had no idea the images that were harassing his mind. She had no idea how much he wanted to ditch their date and take her back home and…

_"If you really love her, you will respect her and stay away from doing…that…until after you marry her."_ Nodoka's words hit him like a bucket of cold water. He shook his head and gave her a warm smile, suddenly realizing she was probably afraid he would throw a fit. He was not done exploring her hidden powers, but today was not a day to train; today was a day to enjoy.

He looked around and made sure the candles were not placed in locations that would cause a fire hazard before he began serving the food to both. "That's one way to light candles."

Akane sighed, relieved that he had not drowned her with questions about what he had just witnessed. She knew, however, that she would soon have to tell him what had occurred after she transported him to Nerima, and explain to him, in great extent, the applications and limitations of her powers. "It does more than light candles, I can assure you that."

"I rather be a witness than a dummy for that."

Akane laughed. "I'm sure."

Once he finished serving them their food, they ate at their pace and made light conversation of trivial things. They spoke about memories of good and bad times of their youth, and shared their feelings regarding situations they had lived in the past. They were surprised to find how many times they had shown each other they cared, but had been too stubborn or blind to see their actions for what they really were.

"I swear Ranma," she said between laughs. "I thought you really didn't want to come see me at the hospital. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE had come to sign my cast, except you!"

Ranma laughed along with her, remembering the situation. Gosunkugi had been taking pictures of her while in P.E. class, and Ranma had somehow aided him in distracting Akane enough to cause her to fall and injure her leg. He had tried to visit her many times, but his mind played all these crazy scenarios that made him stay away.

"Well, by the time I did see you, _I_ had _somehow_ signed your cast. I don't recall doing that before. How did my signature get there, uh?"

Akane blushed lightly. "Come on, Ranma! I was upset!"

"Oh, I remember that! If it hadn't been for you covering my eyes, the entire population of Nerima wouldn't have run all over me!"

"I said I was sorry, already!"

"I know, babe. Just messing with ya."

Akane blushed, this time harder, as she realized the nickname he had used for her. He did not seem to realize he had as he went along his merry way, cleaning up the leftovers and placing them back in the basket. Other than tomboy, uncute, unsexy and all the other less than lovable nicknames he had for her, he had never, willingly and without shame, called her anything else that resembled real love without immediately taking it back.

He finished cleaning up after themselves before stretching out and resting his head on her lap. Akane shifted positions so that he was a little bit more comfortable before running her fingers through his hair.

"I can get used to this," he said, closing his eyes.

"I think I could, too."

A comfortable silence engulfed them, in which, Ranma went down the list of the places he would take her today, and Akane thought about what he had already done for her. After replaying the list in his head enough times that he felt comfortable with not forgetting, he ventured the question that had been nagging in since she lit the candles a few minutes ago.

"Akane?"

"Yeah?"

"The fire…how did you…"

Akane sighed. She knew he was dying to know, being a martial artist and all. She decided that it was as good a moment as any to fill him in about one of her secrets.

"After I gave up Kiima's body, I lost many of the powers I used to defeat Saffron; the powers used to kill. However, some of the magical abilities the Phoenix people had, dealt with manipulation of the energy of nature. Wind, water, ice, electricity –fire, they are all a natural elements of nature. The Phoenix taught me how to pull this energy from my surroundings, and turn it into what I needed, when I needed it."

Ranma opened his eyes and stared at her, assimilating her words. The idea was simple, and the task made sense. However, he knew that there was more than just asking for fire and having it appear in your hands. The level of tuning with nature needed to achieve this had to be significant, otherwise any loser lost in a desert would have water pouring on him whenever he would like.

"I'd like to see you do some others, some other time, if you don't mind."

"I don't. I was planning to teach you before the tournament. You never know when they will come in handy."

Ranma smiled, excited at adding a few more techniques to his repertoire. He had enjoyed teaching Akane when they were in China, and he was more than willing to train with her again.

"Has your stomach settled?"

"What?" Akane panicked, thinking of his real meaning. Did he know she had been throwing up? Had he heard her?

"Yeah, from the sandwiches. Are your ready to continue our date?"

Akane's panic disappeared. She almost gave away her other secret to him.

"I'm ready when you are."

Ranma got up from her lap and helped her get up. He folded the blanket and placed it on top of the basket before offering his hand to Akane. She accepted it and walked behind him, standing behind the fence. He held onto her by surrounding her waist with his arm before leaping both of them clean over the fence. "Let's go to Tofu to drop off this thing," he said, pointing at the basket.

After a few blocks of walking, he left Akane standing on the sidewalk of Dr. Tofu's clinic. He ran to the entrance and left the basket and blanket at the door. He returned to Akane and told her that Tofu was expecting it before grabbing her hand again and making their way to their next stop.

Minutes later, Akane figured out where they were headed, as she had just been there herself the same morning. Akane and Ranma finally arrived at the shopping district and immediately went inside the mall. Once inside, Ranma bought them both a shake and cookies for them to leisurely eat as they window-shopped around the mall. After walking around for half an hour, Ranma invited Akane to ride with him at the carrousel, earning him a few laughs and taunts from her. She finally accepted and they both rode it a couple of times, taking the time to finish their cookies and shake.

Once they were done with the carrousel, Akane suggested stopping at the arcade, to which Ranma happily agreed. They would have stayed there longer, but Ranma was fed up with the lecherous looks she was getting from some of the men at the arcade before dragging her out of the location.

"Ranma! Where are we going?"

"What do you mean, where? Away from there! Those guys were undressing you with their looks!"

"What guys?" Akane said as she turned behind her and caught a handful of men staring at her before they looked away, seeing as they had been caught. Akane rolled her eyes and followed Ranma away from the arcade.

"Stop being so jealous."

"I'm not jealous."

"Yes, you are!" She said, pulling him to a stop to face her.

"No, I'm…" he was going to continue denying it but her knowing look defeated him. "Fine! I'm jealous. Deal with it."

"I am," she said kissing him. Ranma's defenses left him and held her closer to continue their kiss. Happy that the men staring at them witnessed their kiss and understood they had no chance in hell of getting her, he stopped the kiss and followed her to wherever she wanted to go.

"You did that on purpose," he said.

"Of course not," she joked.

She dragged him to a pet store and slightly tuned her out when she started cooing at the puppies in the display, jumping at her and scratching their paws on the window. Ranma let go of her hand and stared through the window of the store next to the pet store, its contents catching his eyes.

In front of him was a mannequin, dressed in a western-style wedding dress. It reminded him of the many times their parents had tried to marry them after they had poisoned them with mushrooms, or knocked them unconscious. He had never paid much attention at the attire, but now that marriage was a possibility he was considering, he imagined how Akane would look in one of those western-style dresses.

Akane suddenly realized he had left her side, so she peeked over to see what had caught his interest. She saw the wedding dress in front of her and gasped. She quickly composed herself and stood next to him, thinking of how to reverse her feelings of shyness and transfer them to him.

"You've got great taste, Ranma! I think that dress would look wonderful on you."

Ranma's eyes widened when he saw her standing next to her, almost falling on his side as he squeaked. He then cleared his throat and stood up, pretending he had not been picturing her in any of the dresses in front of them. He stared at their reflection on the glass and frowned. He then turned to face her, looked at her up and then and frowned again.

Akane, thinking her joke had upset him, began feeling nervous under his critiquing eye. "What?"

"Did you use the water of the Spring of the Drowned Akane to cure yourself?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Did you create a new spring or used the old one?"

"The old one. What are you getting at?"

"How many times did you have to use it?"

"Two. Why?"

Ranma smiled, knowing his suspicious had been correct. "Your body is two years younger than it should be, isn't?"

Akane gasped. She never thought he would make that connection on his own. She shook her head and frowned back at him. "Well, your body is one year younger than it should be."

"True. Do you know what that means?"

"That you are a perv?"

"Oh come on, Akane! Think about it! When people see is in the streets right now, you know what they think?"

"That we are weird for riding a carrousel at our age?"

"No! They say: Oh! 'Look at that 19 year-old guy with that 18 year old girl! Boy he is lucky!'"

Akane rolled her eyes at him. "Ranma, number one: I'm your still your age, even if the water of Jusenkyo shaved two years off me; and two, who are these people, guys?"

"Just…people…"

"Right…" She said, still not quite following his conversation.

"I'm serious! Then when I'm 21, you know that they will say? 'Look at that 21 year old guy with a 20 year old! Boy he is lucky!'"

Akane sighed loudly, showing him the lack of interest in his current thoughts. What was it with guys thinking they were special if they dated younger girls?

Fed up with his ego talking, she spoke again. "And you know what they are going to say when you are 40?"

"What?"

Akane pressed herself closer to him, forcing him to rest his back on the glass wall.

"Look at that 40 year old guy with that 39 year old woman! She needs to find a younger guy!"

Ranma's face faulted. "Whatever," he mumbled before grabbing her hand and leading her out of the mall.

"Where are we going now?"

"You'll see."

Ranma led them out of the mall and towards the lake. The lake at this time of year was frozen, turning into a natural ice rink. After their encounters with Azusa and Mikado, ice-skating was not so difficult for Ranma anymore, and he knew that Akane loved to skate. As soon as they arrived, Ranma paid for the pair of skates and they swapped their current shoes for them. Without regard to the prying eyes on them, Ranma and Akane skated at their leisure, scrapping drawings on the ice and laughing until the mood turned more intimate and they slowly danced on the ice.

Akane rested her cheek on his chest, placing her left arm around his neck, and his own held her right hand.

"This has been the best date I've been on, Ranma."

Ranma, hearing her words, smiled. "We ain't done yet."

"Really?"

"Really."

Ranma twirled both of them a couple of times, relishing the company and realizing this was the perfect moment to tell her. He sighed and cracked his neck, as if he was getting ready for a battle before he spoke.

"Akane, I want to tell you something."

Akane's heart beat faster at his innocent request. She knew what he was about to say. The timing could not be better. They were dancing on the ice, most of the bystanders had left the rink, and the day had gone great for both of them. She closed her eyes and waited for him to utter the words she had been waiting for.

"You're very special to me, Akane. You know that?"

She only nodded, as if her voice would disrupt his train of thought.

"And we've been through a lot, _a lot_. And I'm happy that you've decided to stay with me."

Akane nodded again, showing him he had her full attention.

"I guess, what I'm trying to say is that I lo –"

"Akane Tendo! Fancy seeing you here."

Ranma flinched at the unwanted disruption. He turned around to see who was going to be the receiver of his wrath but his jealous nature immediately overrode his thoughts. Akane, hearing he had become quiet, pulled herself from his chest and turned around to face the intruder that had dared interrupt their moment together.

Standing in front of them stood Satoshi Nakajima. Ranma glared at the man, waiting for an opportunity to wipe the smile of his face. "Oh! Satoshi! I didn't see you here."

Satoshi, knowing well his presence was unwelcome, walked closer to Akane and shook her hand. He then looked up and gave a fake smile to Ranma, who was still holding Akane's other hand. Akane, realizing Satoshi and Ranma had not been properly introduced, quickly amended the issue.

"Satoshi, this is Ranma Saotome, my fiancée."

Satoshi extended his hand towards Ranma, who took it and shook just a little too hard for Satoshi's taste. Satoshi, however, did not seem affected by it and his smile did not falter. "Pleasure to finally meet you, Ranma. Akane talks about you all the time."

"Nice to meet you, Satoshi. Sadly, I can't say the same."

Akane elbowed Ranma in an attempt to ask him to be more respectful towards Satoshi. Ranma's smile became menacing as he began walking away from the man, making sure Akane followed him. "Well, we've got somewhere we have to be, don't we, Akane? Hope to meet again, Satoshi."

Akane nodded and gave Satoshi an apologetic smile as she waved goodbye to him, following her clearly jealous boyfriend out of the rink. By the time Akane reached the end of the rink, Ranma had already placed his regular shoes on, and was holding Akane's. She took them without a word and hastily changed. Ranma returned the pair of skates to the attendant, and she followed Ranma to their next stop.

After a long and uncomfortable silence, they arrived at a restaurant Akane had never been to before. Ranma let the host know that he had a reservation, and before they could blink again, they were both being led to their table. The waiter saluted them, left the menus at their table, took an order of drinks, and promised to come back with their order. Akane had not dared to say a word until she realized Ranma's face of anger had not changed a bit since their abrupt escape from the rink.

"Ranma, are you gonna talk to me again, ever?"

"Oh! You're talking to me? I thought you were still talking to your friend, Satoshi."

Akane rolled her eyes. "Ranma, let's not do this. I was having a great time until he showed up."

"Why? Are you afraid I'll find out you are dating him on the side?"

Akane frowned. "Are you fucking stupid, or you are just pretending for my sake?"

Ranma attempted to look upset, but her words had hurt him. She rarely cursed at him, and when she did, he knew he had truly made her mad.

He realized that their date was almost over and decided to let go of his anger for now. There would a chance to discuss Akane's relationship to Satoshi, some other time.

He dropped the menu and grabbed her hands before apologizing to her. She accepted the apology and before they knew, they were laughing again as they tried Indian food for the first time. Unfortunately, for them, Akane became ill in the middle of it, and ran to the bathroom to throw up what she had just eaten. She cursed under her breath, knowing Ranma would be suspicious of her, but decided to play it off as a reaction to the food.

Ranma, not questioning her logic, proceeded to pay for the food and decided not to take her to the winter fair as he had thought, seeing how pale she looked. He, instead, took her to the park where they sat at a bench, staring at the sun setting down.

The couple remained quiet, observing the people surrounding them. They saw a man playing with his kids while a woman laughed and took pictures. They saw another couple walking hand-in-hand, pointing at the stars above them. As the night became more prominent, the families in the park left, and their presences were replaced by more couples, enjoying the beautiful night.

Akane leaned closer to Ranma, feeling the chill of the cold getting to her. Ranma placed an arm around her shoulder and held her close, providing whatever heat he could to her. They remained like that for a while until Ranma saw a preview of his future. In front of him, a couple rested against the fence of the park. The guy pointed at something at a distance, making his partner turn around and try to find what he was talking about. As she did this, the guy took out a small box and opened it, getting down on one knee. When the woman in question was not able to find what he had been pointing at, she turned around to see him, holding a ring in his hands. The woman, visibly shocked but also happy, nodded in acceptance. The man stood up and placed the ring on her finger, and they sealed the deal with a hug.

Ranma stared at them until they left, surely on their way to tell the four cardinal points that they were to join their lives. Ranma's mind replayed the scene in his head, finding it alluring to be that man.

"_I will do it after the tournament. I will ask Akane to marry me."_

Feeling a newfound wave of courage and knowing she had also witnessed the scene, he tightened his hold on her before he spoke. "You better say yes when I ask you to marry me, Akane."

He heard her gasp, but she did not move. Thinking this was the chance he had been deprived of earlier today by Satoshi, he continued to speak. "Would it help to say yes to me if I told you I love you?"

He smiled to himself, satisfied that he had finally come out and said it. He waited for Akane's response but when he did not hear one, he looked at her.

She was asleep.

The gasp he had heard earlier had not been a gasp, but actually a wheeze.

Ranma sighed. _"Fuckin' shit."_

He cursed his luck and lifted Akane, who was tired from the eventful day. He took her back home, and laid her on her bed. He thought about staying with her tonight, but decided against it. He had other plans. He kissed her goodnight and left her home, stopping at a pay phone on his way to his own house. He dialed a number and waited until a very angry woman picked up the other line.

"Who the hell is this?"

"Hey, Nabiki, it's me, Ranma."

"You better be fucking _dying_, Saotome. Do you have _any_ idea what time it is?"

"Time to get married to Akane?"

Nabiki smiled. Finally! Her plans would pay off. "What can I do you for? Whatever it is, it's gonna cost you."

Ranma chuckled, knowing that just too well. "I need you to get something for me, and keep it until I tell you. And no word to anyone, especially Akane."

"No worries, Ranma," she said, knowing that she was about to become an accomplice of Ranma's proposal plans. Once Ranma arrived home, he remained awake, thinking of ways to propose to Akane. After many scenarios, his body finally gave up and he was able to have a restful night.

* * *

**A/N:** "Ranma was never a man of words, but a man of actions" borrowed this from reader Kikko! Thanks! So, what do you all think is going on here? Too much? Too little? The next chapter will be the last normal chapter. The crap really starts to hit the fan from the fifth until the end. Enjoy the fluff and light drama for now, because the_ real_ drama is coming soon. The next chapter is called _Adorable._ Thanks!


	5. Adorable

**Chapter 4: Adorable  
**

The five days of vacation had flown by quicker than Akane or Ranma would have liked. After their first date, they had spent the last two days preparing for the tryouts they had decided to host in order to choose the five students who would attend the tournament with them. They hoped that the final list resembled the original list they had already composed, as they knew the top five students they had in mind would be the best ones to take with them.

Even though they already had their minds set on the team they wanted to take with them to ART, they realized that organizing tryouts would be the fairer option for their students, and would potentially provide the sense of pride of representing their school needed for the students to try winning with all their might. Akane and Ranma had decided to split up the tryouts in five different categories based on age ranges, and this way, the winner of each category would get to go with them.

In between organizing the tryouts and transferring the written draft of the dojo's business plan to a soft copy, Ranma and Akane had begun training for the tournament. Even though Akane was attending as a trainer only, Ranma had no one else serious enough or tough enough as Akane with whom he could spar. In addition, he did enjoy training with her as he had learned when they trained in China. To make their training more interesting, she had taken the time to start him on learning to use the nature techniques from the Phoenix tribe.

At the moment, the couple in question sat in the lotus position, at the garden of the Tendo residence. Both dressed in their gi. They had just finished exchanging the theory concepts of what they had titled _nature manipulation_, in order to clearly communicate with each other the basis of the technique. As Akane took the time to teach him how to gather energy from the chemical elements in nature he needed to create wind, fire, ice, water, and such, she herself had practice the techniques more and more.

The goal for Ranma had become learning how to invoke the technique after the required concentration time, while the goal for Akane had become to immediately use the technique without having to waste time for concentration. In other words, Ranma was learning how to use the technique in its most basic level, and Akane was to learn how to use the technique on command. So far, the fire technique had been mastered by both to the desired level of the goal, which had earned Ranma a few burn marks on his hands, and Akane a few practices of her water and ice technique on him to put out his accidental fires.

The couple now worked on the electricity technique, since it had the same basic concepts as the fire technique. After Akane had warned him that there was absolutely nothing that she could do to help him if he invoked the technique incorrectly, Ranma decided to take special care as he learned it. The last thing Ranma wanted to do was ending up at the hospital, claiming that he had been accidentally struck by lightning on a sunny day.

Ranma closed his eyes to concentrate in learning the next technique. He knew he would have learned all of the nature-invoking techniques by now if it were not so darn difficult for him to concentrate with Akane around. After their first date, and him calling Nabiki to buy and store the engagement ring for him, his mind plagued him with possible scenarios of their future together after the tournament ended. Would they move-in together for college? Or, would they stay in separate dorms? Would Akane suggest waiting until after college to seal the deal, or would she throw caution into the wind and elope? Would she be happy if he proposed, or scared out of her wits? All these questions swarmed his brain, and seemed to push away any other vital thoughts from his mind; such as, in this case, how not to fry yourself with a bolt of lightning.

"Son of a _bitch_!" Ranma screamed as he shook his hands up and down.

Akane opened one eye and stared at Ranma as he blew air on his hand he had just shocked when he lost concentration of the electricity that ran through his hands. She rolled her one opened eye, closed it again, and returned to her meditation state. She heard Ranma curse some more before everything became quiet again. Akane's mind expanded to feel the breeze surrounding them. She could almost taste the water in the atmosphere, and touch the electric charge in the air. She could hear the sparks of fire coming from the lava running within the mountains afar from them, and feel the cold snow on top of them, as well.

She jumped from one feeling to the other in the same order, attempting to rearrange the atoms around her to accommodate her practice of every technique. She began with water, making the air around her humid until ice began forming around her. She then invoked fire to melt the water and caused it to evaporate and rise to the clouds above her with aid of the wind, in order to reach enough height so that she could call on the electric charges needed to cause rumbles in the skies. She repeated the process, over and over again, until she could control it without having to think about it too hard.

Ranma began feeling the constant change in temperature around him, which forced him to open his eyes to see what was causing the fluctuations. He observed in awe as Akane's body was soaked in water until her body became covered in ice. After this, her temperature would rise until her body became a human flame. The flame was then extinguished by vertical winds, which turned her into a source of static energy with the occasional spark of electricity jumping off her body. After all the changes, she would return to normal, only to start the transformation show all over again.

She did this five more times, non-stop, until she opened her eyes to see Ranma on all fours, staring at her, his face inches away from hers. Akane used her index finger to push back Ranma to a sitting position before he slumped.

"Everything OK, Ranma?"

"You're such a show-off."

Akane tilted her head, not quite knowing where the sudden hostility was coming from, listening to Ranma's continuation of his complains. "Here I am, burning my clothes with a half assed bolt of lightning, and you are playing changeling with all the techniques at once!"

Akane shook her head at how childish Ranma could become when he was not learning a technique as fast as he was used to. She figured it was a personal trait he would never abandon, for the rest of his life. She thought of dismissing his silly attempt at a pointless argument, but a quick scan of her memories provided her with the best comeback she could have.

"What's wrong with you? You're gonna give up already? What did you think was gonna happen? You were gonna beat me in two days? I've been doing this for 3 years!"

Ranma stared at her smug grin, trying to figure out the true intention of her words. He knew he had heard those words before, but he could not quite place them. After a little longer, he growled and narrowed his eyes at her when he realized what she had done. She had used against him the same words he had used with her when she was pouting about not being able to use Bakusaintenketsu against him in battle, back in China.

"You think you're so slick, uh?"

"No, I just think you're acting like a baby."

"I'm not a baby!"

"I didn't say you were. I said you were acting like one."

"Why you…"

Ranma was ready to jump on her and force her to take back what she had just said, but the phone began ringing, stopping them both in their tracks. "Saved by the bell," Ranma teased her.

"Whatever you say."

Ranma stood up and began slowly walking towards the phone when realization struck him. "Hey! Why the hell am I the one answering your phone? It's your house!"

"You're almost there. Just answer it, please?"

Ranma scoffed at her fake pleading words before he picked up the received and placed it on his ear. "Tendo Residence, how may I misdirect your call?"

"Ranma?"

"Mom?"

"Yes! Thank God, you're there. Are you terribly busy right now?"

Ranma looked back at Akane, who began getting up and was now stretching her limbs. He made a mental check of their agenda for the day, and while their last day of winter vacation included training, studying and cuddling while watching a movie at the end of the day, he really could not think anything important that would be interrupted by the apparent request his mom was about to ask from him.

"Not terribly. Why do you ask?"

"I have a huge favor to ask you. Is Akane there with you?"

"Akane?"

At hearing her name, Akane walked towards Ranma with a questioning look on her face. She had not spoken to Nodoka since her conversation in her kitchen, so she felt uncomfortable that she was calling her house, asking if Ranma was with her.

"Yeah, she's right here."

"Wonderful! Can you ask her if she has gotten chickenpox?"

Ranma's eyebrows rose at the unusual request, but proceeded to cover the phone as he turned around and asked Akane what his mother wanted to know.

"Yeah, I have."

Ranma returned to the phone and relayed the information to Nodoka.

"Excellent!" Nodoka said as she herself relayed the information to whoever was with her, Ranma guessing it was his dad.

"What's this favor you want?"

Nodoka took a deep breath. "I need you to watch over the twins, just for today."

"What?" Ranma said, suddenly upset that he had not pretended he had planned something special with Akane for the day.

"Ranma, please! I wouldn't be asking you if I had another choice."

"Why can't dad watch them?"

"Are you seriously asking that question?"

Ranma nodded as he realized how stupid the notion of Genma Saotome watching over infants was. For a moment, he pictured his dad kidnapping the babies and taking them training as he had taken him. Ranma's body shuddered when he imagined the twins returning to Nerima after 16 years of training in China, with a curse that turned them into a camel and a goat. He dismissed the thought as he remembered Jusenkyo was no more, but he could not deny the possibility that Genma would find a way to get them all cursed. His mental image ended with a snapshot of panda Genma standing next to the goat and camel, holding up a sign that read: _"Now we can start up that farm!"_

The last image made Ranma snap out of his trance, and continued the conversation with this mom. "What does Akane having the chicken pox have anything to do with us watching over the twins?"

Hearing this, Akane eyes opened wider than he had ever seen, possibly also terrified at the idea of watching over two babies on their last free day.

"Oh! I didn't tell you, did I? There is a small epidemic of chickenpox at work –the day care the twins usually go to. I've been called to an emergency meeting to assess the gravity of the situation, and to sanitize the place."

"OK. Why can't Kasumi or Dr. Tofu watch them?"

Akane shook her head, getting Ranma's attention. "Kasumi has never had chicken pox."

"What?"

Nodoka heard Akane's voice and agreed with her. "She's right. And Ono has a medical conference today, he won't be back until tomorrow morning. Besides, this is Kasumi's last week at school. She's taking her final exams in the next couple of days. She can't afford to get sick before graduating from nursing school, now can she?"

"I guess not," Ranma said, seeing how his choices were quickly narrowing down and still not believing someone as old as Kasumi never had the chicken pox.

"Please, Ranma. I'll pay you."

"No, mom. That won't be necessary."

"You're absolutely right! They're practically your niece and nephew! You should be honored to do this for your future sister-in-law."

If running out of options had not yet convinced Ranma to help the twins, her last statement did the trick. Kasumi had always selflessly helped him whenever he needed the extra support. He never had to ask Kasumi for help, she just knew when to provide it. This time, it was his turn to return the favor. He sighed, looking at Akane to break the news to her.

"Should we go pick them up?" Akane asked.

Nodoka, again hearing her, answered her question via Ranma. "Yes, I'll leave them here with Genma, along with their diapers and such. I really have to go, now. I'm late for my meeting at work."

"OK, mom. See you tonight."

"Thanks Ranma, and Akane. See you tonight!"

Ranma hung the phone before giving Akane a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm sorry, Akane. We'll train some more tomorrow, OK?"

Akane nodded, not really bothered by the interruption as she was willing to help her sister. She was, however, afraid that she would not know what to do with two sick babies. Ranma smelled his clothes and realized they needed a bath before heading outside, making him smile at the thought.

"Hey, I know one thing we can do before we play babysitters today."

"Ranma, we don't have time to do anything else. Let's shower and go save those babies from your dad."

Ranma smiled at her idea, and lifted his eyebrows a couple of times, waiting for her to realize what she said. "Ranma! We can't do that!"

"Oh, come on, Akane! With all this talk about nature and the environment and shit, why does it surprise you that I want to do my part for Mother Nature and conserve water?"

Akane chuckled at his attempt to convince her to shower together, and laughed even harder when she realized it might have just worked. Ranma followed Akane as she ran upstairs to get ready for the most unexpected day of their lives.

xxxXXXxxx

Ranma led Akane down the stone path of his home before unlocking the front door, and holding it open for her to come inside. He closed the door behind them as he heard his dad laugh hysterically at the show he was watching on TV.

"Dad?"

Akane followed Ranma to the living room, where Genma sat on his couch, with a bag of popcorn in his hands. Every now and then, he would boo at the TV and throw popcorn at the screen, before he would laugh again and throw popcorn inside his mouth. Since Soun had gone up north to pick up Nabiki at her college to bring her home for the holidays, Genma had been finding it difficult to find activities to occupy his time. Ranma walked closer to Genma until he was standing between the TV and the joyful man, forcing him to pay attention to Ranma's calls.

"Dad, we're here for the twins. Where are they?"

Genma narrowed his eyes, remembering that Nodoka had said something about Ranma and Akane stopping by, but he could not quite remember why. It had been something important, but for the life of him, he could not piece it together in his mind. Seeing the lost face on his dad, Ranma picked up the remote and turned off the TV before juddering Genma by the shoulders to shake him off his trance.

"Dad, snap out of it! We're in a hurry, here! Where are Ichiro and Kazue?"

Genma stood up and smacked Ranma's hands away from him. "Ranma! That was my favorite show! How dare you disrespect your father, you ungrateful son!"

Ranma, recognizing the tone of his father's voice as the beginning of a challenge, cracked his knuckles in anticipation of a quick spar with his dad. "Who are you calling ungrateful, you ol' man?"

"Old man? Enjoy your youth while you can, silly boy! Soon, that head of yours will be as swift as mine!" Genma said, pulling on Ranma's pigtail.

"Hey! That hurts!"

Akane walked between the two childish men and pushed them apart. "Ranma, we don't have time for this. Cut it out!"

Genma put his hands on his hips as he poked fun at Ranma. "Listen to your fiancée, Ranma! She knows you don't have a chance against my power and wisdom."

"I don't have a what?"

Genma began laughing again, causing Ranma to reach over him, attempting to wipe the smile off his father's face. Akane jumped in between them again, yelling at them to stop. "For God's sake, Ranma! Let's just walk around the house, find the twins and get out."

Ranma scoffed at his dad's silly faces he was making as Akane led him away from the living room. They heard the TV being turned on again, and Genma's loud laughter again began.

"Sometimes, I swear I must be adopted," Ranma said.

"Still want to leave the twins with your dad?" Akane asked, reminding him that he had tried to get out of watching the twins himself.

"Hell no! Let's just find them and get out of here before I punch his bald head."

After a few minutes of searching, they found the two babies asleep on Nodoka's bed. The bags of diapers, baby bottles, milk and other supplies rested against the wall. Ranma grabbed one bag, and Akane grabbed the other before trying their best to lift the babies from the bed without disturbing their sleep too much. Before they knew it, and after evading tripping on his dad's dirty clothes and shoes, they both walked out of his house and began their way back to the Tendo home.

A few blocks away from the Saotome home, the twins continued to sleep.

"This is easier than I thought," Ranma began. "If they stay asleep all day, we've got nothing to worry about."

Akane shook her head, knowing Ranma's words were just wishful thinking. "You're in for a surprise, Ranma."

Ranma scoffed. "Really? How terrible can they be? They're babies!" and, as if on cue, the baby Ranma was holding threw up on his chest before coughing a little and going back to sleep as if nothing had occurred.

Ranma stopped in his tracks, looked down in disgust as he felt the hot pile of vomit filter through his clothes as it reached his skin. Akane laughed, getting ahead of him, realizing he was too shocked to move for now. "See you at home, Ranma."

It took Ranma a couple of minutes to regain his bearings in his stomach before following Akane, who was already a few blocks ahead of him. The first thing Ranma did when he arrived to the Tendo home was to shower thoroughly to take the smell of sour milk away from his nose.

xxxXXXxxx

"AKANEEEE! AKANEEE, HELP! PLEAASEEE!"

Ranma's cries of help made Akane bolt up from her chair and speed up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. She tripped a few times down the hall until she reached Ranma's old room and slammed the door open to find Ranma standing up, with Ichiro in his extended arms, wailing as if there was no tomorrow.

"RANMA! What the hell was all that screaming about? You scared the shit out of me!"

"Scared the shit out of _you_? What about _me_? I think I broke the baby! He won't stop crying!"

As soon as Akane and Ranma had reached the Tendo home, they had decided that they would have a better chance at watching over the babies by each taking care of one. Ranma had quickly jumped at taking care of Ichiro since _men stuck together, _and had headed for his room, while Akane took Kazue to the living room with her. After changing her diaper and playing with Kazue for a little while to distract her from the hives she was beginning to grow on her skin, Akane had just finished putting her to sleep when Ranma's screams made her jump.

Akane walked inside the room and stood a few feet away from Ranma, refusing to take the baby off his arms. He had been so smug that he and Ichiro –which he went as far as calling _Team Ranma_, were the better baby team, that Akane had made herself a promise that she was not going to make this easy for him. She crossed her arms and placed her weight on her left leg as she stared at Ranma's desperate attempt to make the infant stop crying.

"Is team Ranma having a disagreement? If I didn't know any better, I'd think the baby's winning."

Ranma growled. "This ain't funny, Akane! What the hell do I do?"

Akane walked closer to the baby without actually attempting to grab him. She immediately covered her nose and took a few steps away from the baby before screaming at Ranma with her face still covered by her hands.

"Ranma! When was the last time you changed his diaper?"

"The last time I what?" Ranma asked as he pulled the baby closer to him, immediately noticing the smell Akane was so urgently trying to put some distance from. "I thought you changed it!"

"How could you possibly think that? I've been with Kazue all this time!"

"Well," he said. "I…I've never changed a diaper before."

Akane knew what he was trying to say, but she was not going to do his job for him. "That's your problem. I gotta go watch over the other member of _Team Akane_. Bye."

Ranma ran towards Akane as fast as he could while keeping the baby at arm's length. Akane did not stop her walk and made her way down the stairs and back to the living room with Ranma close on her tail.

"Akane, please. I can't do that!"

Akane put a finger on her lips before pointing at the sleeping baby, effectively making her point that he had to lower his voice. Ichiro's screaming had stopped considerately, but he was still red and teary-eyed. "Akane, I'll do anything. I'll pay you!"

Akane scoffed. "Pay me? We both get our money from the same place! Whatever money you can offer me, I'll earn it at the same time, anyway."

"Ugh! That would have worked with Nabiki."

"Well, too bad Nabiki isn't here."

"OK. OK. I'll wash your clothes for a week!"

"No."

"Two weeks?"

"No."

"I'll do your homework for two weeks!"

"I don't wanna fail my class, and with us finishing school in a few days, we won't have homework for two weeks, now."

"Come on! How about I take you out on another date? Away from the city this time."

"Is this supposed to be for you or me?"

"Dammit," he said, running out of ideas to save his soul from having to change anyone's diapers in his life.

"OK, I got it! Uhm…I'll…eat your cooking for a month!"

Akane turned to face him, giving his offer a serious thought. "Really?"

"Errr…" he said, unable to bring himself to seal the deal.

"That's what I thought. No."

"ARGH! Mmhhh…how about…."

"Nothing, Ranma. Nothing you can offer me can make me do your job for you. Now go upstairs and change that poor baby before he gets a bigger rash than he will get thanks to the chicken pox."

"But, but…Akane!"

"But nothing! Besides, I'm very busy right now," she said as she sat next to the baby girl and grabbed a magazine.

Ranma looked around and saw that Kazue was still asleep and frowned. "Busy? Busy doing what, exactly?"

"Ignoring you. Now go!"

Ranma sighed in defeat as he hung his head and headed upstairs to do his job, mumbling something along the lines of asking what he had done to deserve this, and disappeared from earshot. He walked inside the room and laid the baby on the tatami floor. He then walked to the bag and took out a fresh diaper, baby powder, and a box of wipes. He placed them next to the baby before wiping the sweat of his brown with his arm. "Come on, Ranma Saotome," he told himself. "You've defeated greater enemies, bare-handed. You can do this!"

He shakily pulled off the plastic tabs that held the diaper in place, before pulling it down.

"Oh! OH! OH, MY GOD! WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY FEEDING YOU, MAN?!"

Ranma pinched his nose with his fingers as he tried his best not to stare directly at the present the baby had for him. He could have sworn he heard Akane laugh downstairs, making his anger at her lack of support at such an atrocious time increase tenfold. "That Akane! She'll get a piece of my mind!"

Ranma opened the box of wipes and took one out, attempting to begin his duty, but stopped inches away from touching the little wiggling man in front of him.

"I need to use some protection," he said before amending his statement immediately after that. "Just as the Doc should have used had he known these little evil creatures would come around."

He left the wipe on top of the box before running out of his room and heading downstairs to the kitchen. Akane saw him run inside and heard him open drawers and slamming cabinet doors before he came out running again wearing an apron, latex gloves on his hands, and a disposable dust mask covering his face. Akane could not help but laugh at his desperate attempt, earning her some insulting names from her boyfriend.

"Good luck, honey! Don't let that baby beat you!" Akane screamed at him as a response to his insults.

Ranma walked down the hall and took a deep breath before entering the room again. He walked towards the baby and kneeled in front of him. "Ok, baby. Bring it on!"

He grabbed the wipe he had left on top of the box and began cleaning up the baby. When he realized he could not determine if the moisture he felt through the gloves was coming from the baby or the cleansing solution of the tissue, he grabbed a handful of them as an attempt to avoid any confusion of fluids as he cleaned the baby's bottom.

Once he had finished that, he pulled the dirty diaper and folded it on itself, leaving it a good three feet away from him. He grabbed the new diaper and placed it under Ichiro, and then proceeded to sprinkle powder on him. He completed his task by securing the diaper around the baby before lifting him up to make sure it stayed in place.

"YES! IN YOUR FACE, AKANE!"

Ranma saw that Ichiro's mood changed immediately, to the point that he saw him smile. "That's right, Ichiro! Your challenge was a respectable one! But it is I, Ranma Saotome, who was the better contender!"

After this little happy dance, he placed Ichiro back on the mat. He closed the wipes box and twisted the cap of the powder bottle before placing all of the items back in the bag. He carefully lifted the soggy, dirty diaper and placed it on a makeshift tarp made by the apron he was wearing.

"Good thing I learned that fire technique, eh, Ichiro? 'Cuz I'mma have to burn this apron once we are done, here."

Ranma turned around and headed to the door. He held the hazardous cargo with one hand as he used the other one to open the door. He, however, was not expecting Akane to open it first, asking if he had called her name just now. The unexpected surprise caused him to trip on his own feet and land flat on his face, half of his body still in the room, and the other in the hall.

Akane covered her face with her hands at the shock and immediately kneeled next to him. "Ranma, are you alright?"

Ranma peeled his face from the floor to reveal brown spots all over his clothes, neck, face, arms and the floor.

"Ranma…is that…"

Ranma nodded, avoiding saying the word in order to pretend it was not real. He stood up and turned away from Akane, heading directly to the bathroom.

"Akane, do you mind watching over Ichiro while I…" he said, pointing at the bathroom door.

Akane nodded and waited for Ranma to lock himself inside the bathroom before gathering the mop and a bucket to mop the spots from the floor. Akane giggled when she walked next to the bathroom door as she took Ichiro downstairs with her. She heard Ranma curse loudly as he took his third bath of the day.

xxxXXXxxx

After Ranma had scrubbed every inch of his body and hair to make every attempt to remove any residue of anything he could find, he dressed in fresh clothes before making his way down the stairs and headed to the living room. Akane had moved the table to the side and had created a small bed on the floor for both babies to enjoy their naps. He walked inside the room to find Akane curled up on the small couch, with a couple of blankets covering her entire body.

He knew that winter was upon them, but the temperature inside the Tendo home was comfortable enough to walk around in shorts. He walked up to her, carefully not to step on the babies. When he stood in front of her, he realized her eyes were closed. He smiled at her bundled up self. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, only to immediately retracting it back.

"Akane, what the hell? You're burning up."

He quickly walked back to the kitchen to grab the first aid kit he had used to find the gloves and the mask, and pulled out the thermometer and the ice bag. He then opened the freezer and took out one of the ice trays, and dumped its contents inside the bag before twisting it shut. He walked back to Akane as he shook the thermometer. He then lightly shook her awake, earning him a mumbled complaint for waking her up.

"Akane, you're running a fever, let me measure it, OK?"

Akane nodded, too tired to argue with him, and opened her mouth to allow Ranma to put in the thermometer. He then carried her to the larger couch so she could lay flat on her back and as he did, he noticed the bottom blanket was damp with sweat. He threw both blankets on the floor and placed the ice bag on top of Akane's head, making a small cry of pain escape her lips. "Ssshhh, Akane. I know, I know it's cold, but I hafta control it before it melts your brain."

A few seconds after, and still holding the bag to her head, he grabbed the thermometer from her mouth and pulled it closer to his face to read the mark. Ranma's eyes widened in shock at the read.

"103! Shit, Akane! How long have you been…?" Ranma was about to start scolding her for not telling him sooner that she was not feeling well, but quickly realized this was not the time. He positioned the ice bag on her head so that it would stay put without him having to be there to hold it. He then ran to the entry hall and picked up the phone ready to call his mom but remembered she was spending the day at the day care, and he did not know the number of the business. He dialed his dad but he did not answer.

"What do I do? I can't take her to the hospital! Who's gonna watch the brats?"

He went down the list of people who could watch the twins, but ended up back where he started today: only he and Akane were able to watch over them. He slammed the phone back on its cradle before returning to the living room. _"I could call the ambulance, but who is gonna go with her?"_

He grabbed the ice bag and realized the ice had already melted. He ran back to the kitchen, dumped the water in the sink and dug his hands inside the freezer to grab more ice. _"I gotta stay behind with the twins if the ambulance takes her, and I can't take them with me to a hospital. Think, Ranma, think!"_

After pouring a good amount of ice in the bag, he began his way back to the living room, but stopped at the foot of the stairs. He looked up at the bathroom door and then at the bag of ice in his hands.

_"A cold bath! I need to give her an ice bath!"_

He wasted no time going up the stairs and inside the bathroom. He got on his knees, clogged the drain, and turned on the faucet of cold water. He dumped in the tub the ice he had in the bag and ran out of the room. He stopped at the closet down the hall and grabbed the bucket before closing the door again. He ran down the stairs and went into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and poured all the ice inside it into the empty bucket. Once he had scrapped all the ice he could from the walls of the freezer, he ran upstairs again and dumped the ice in the tub, which had filled half way.

He ran downstairs again and after checking the babies were still asleep, he walked towards Akane and picked her up. Her temperature had not decreased, making him nervous she would go into shock. He walked as fast as he could up the stairs with her in his arms, opened the door to the bathroom with his foot, and sat her on the closed lid of the toilet. Akane wobbled left and right, drenching in sweat.

"Stay with me, Akane. I'll get you cool in no time," he said as he began undressing her until she was left only in her bra and panties. He carried her again and then slowly took her down to the ice water. As soon as her back felt the water, she screamed, and attempted to jump out of his arms.

"Akane, stop! Stop!" he pleaded with her as he used his strength to push her down into the water, leaving only her head above it. Akane began waving her arms and legs, crying in pain and asking him to let her out of the tub. Even though Ranma was hurting seeing her like this, he wanted her to get better while experiencing a little bit of pain, rather than dying for not helping her out at all.

"Ranma, it hurts! Stop, please!"

Ranma saw tears fill her eyes, making his heart clench. Her voice, while strained, made her sound so weak and helpless, a way he had never seen her before –and he never wanted to see her again. She began regaining some of her strength as adrenaline kicked in, and pushed harder on him, almost making it out of the tub. When Ranma saw that he had to keep her there by different means, he hastily took off his own outer clothes and jumped inside with her, pinning her down between him and the bottom of the tub.

The ice had begun to melt, and while her temperature had gone down, it was still not enough to help. He could not leave her to get more ice, knowing she would jump right out and probably injure herself in the process, and even if he found a way to leave her while she was still here, there was no more ice left. Feeling he was running out of choices, he turned to the only thing he could do at the time.

He closed his eyes, and took deep breaths, attempting to calm himself and meditate while ignoring Akane's struggling and screams. "Ranma! I hate you! Let me out!"

_"She doesn't mean it, Randma," _He told himself._ "She __**doesn't**__ mean it. She's in pain. You __**have **__to help her out."_

Returning to his meditation, he slowly reached the point he needed to call on the technique they had been practicing in the morning. He was yet to attempt the ice technique, but if there was ever a chance to prove his ability as a martial artist, this definitely was it.

Ranma's body began absorbing the elements around him, and filtering them through his body. His arms and legs began pouring ice around him, slowly lowering the temperature of the water in the tub. As the temperature lowered, Akane's hits and screams got harder and louder.

"Fuck you, Ranma Saotome! Fuck _you_ and your guts!"

Ranma could not afford to lose concentration, and continued filling the tub with ice. After a few minutes, her struggles diminished as her temperature came down. Her heavy breathing was now more stable, and she had stopped cussing him out. Ranma opened his eyes to see her take in short breaths, and finally open her eyes.

"Akane…are you…"

She nodded to him, lifting her hand to touch his face.

"Thank you, Ranma," she said, after finally coming back to her senses.

She closed her eyes, tired after their brawl. Ranma stopped creating ice around them, and stood up. He unclogged the tub and let the tub drain as he stood up and walked to his room to grab a clean, _dry_ set of clothes. He then walked to Akane's room, and grabbed the same for her, before heading back to the bathroom. He closed the door of the tub with Akane still inside and removed his wet clothes, patting himself dry before putting on the clean ones.

He then opened the screen door, and helped Akane crawl out of the tub. He sat her on the edge of the tub and handed her a towel. "Do you need help?"

Akane nodded, making him nervous at the present task. He patted her dry where he could before wrapping the towel around her body. He then pulled her underclothes, while still covering her with the towel, and helped her replace her clothes with as much cover the towel could provide. In all their years together, they had seen each other nude, countless times, both voluntarily and involuntarily. Today, however, he had exerted his power over her just now, and the last thing he felt like doing was exposing her body like that.

After she was all dressed up, he carried her down the stairs and laid her on the couch. He grabbed a light, clean blanket and placed it on her. He returned to the kitchen and after much searching, he found a bottle of over-the-counter medicines to control light fevers. He grabbed a bottle of water and forced Akane to swallow a couple of the pills.

He checked on the twins once more, and headed upstairs to clean the mess left behind in the bathroom. Once completed, he walked downstairs to the kitchen and cleaned the mess there as well. After the kitchen was clean, he walked to the living room and picked up the blankets drenched in sweat he had tossed to the side, and took them to the hamper in the laundry room behind the dojo. By the time he was done, he walked to the phone and unhooked it on his way back to the living room. He checked on the twins once more, making sure the noise had not woken them up. He sat on the floor, in front of the twins, and resting his back against the couch where Akane slept now. Before he knew it, he too fell asleep where he sat.

A few hours later, after the chaos had stopped, the door was unlocked from outside allowing Nabiki and Soun to enter the home in the middle of the night. They expected to see all the lights out, but the light at the hall was still on. Not knowing if Akane was asleep already, they tiptoed to the living room, turning on the light switch as they did.

Soun stared at the scene in front of them, with curious delight. Kasumi's twins were asleep on the floor, on top of several blankets and pillows to provide them some comfort. Next to the twins was Ranma, sat with his back on the couch, an empty baby bottle in his left hand, and a half full bottle in between his legs. His head rested on the couch, at an angle that for sure would be uncomfortable when he woke up, and his right arm extended itself across the couch. His right hand held what they now realized was Akane's hand, as she curled up on the couch, with her head on the opposite side of his.

Nabiki winked at his dad, and waved him off away from the room. She began searching in her bag for something, and when she found it, she showed the item to her dad.

"What are you doing with that camera, Nabiki?"

"What do you think? Taking a picture of this."

"Why? Are you gonna blackmail them with it tomorrow?"

"No! How can you say something like that? I have a better idea."

"What is that?"  
Nabiki aimed the camera at the scene, making sure the Christmas tree in the back showed up in the frame. She took the picture and handed the camera to her dad.

"Are you gonna tell me you don't think that would make the most _adorable_ Christmas card?"

Soun shook his head at his daughter's ideas before handing the camera back to her and heading to his room. Nabiki stared at her sister, wondering if she knew how lucky she really was. She turned the lights off and dragged her luggage upstairs to her room, ready to retire for the night.

* * *

**A/N:** Like I said before, this the last nice chapter of this story! Believe it or not, the last chapter and the epilogue are already written. I figured I was throwing the chapters too close to each other, and being this long, I wasn't giving you guys a chance to take your time to read it, so I am gonna leave a few days in between postings. I hope this also allows for more time for you to review, and a better chance for me to sleep at reasonable hours of the night. Next chapter is titled _Alleged_. Thanks for reading!


	6. Alleged

**Chapter 5: Alleged  
**

Two days after babysitting the twins, Akane was still showing signs of a mild fever. It had reduced significantly from the scare she had given Ranma that night, but combined with her dizziness and morning sickness it did not make it any less concerning. Ranma was not taking any more chances of going through a similar situation with her, especially after Doctor Tofu had told him his quick thinking had prevented Akane from spending the rest of her life in a vegetative state. After repeated requests –which eventually turned into demands, from Ranma, Akane had promised him she would go see Doctor Tofu at the end of the day, today.

Needless to say, returning to their old routine of running the dojo and going to school after spending a few days together, had proven more difficult than they had realized it would be. The taste of freedom from responsibilities, and the feeling of enjoying each other's company, had been the last push they both needed to power through finishing school, however. They knew that once they went to college, the dojo would be left in the hands of their parents, and studying and attending school would be their only job for the next four years. Neither of them could wait until they would be able to move away from Nerima, seclude themselves from prying eyes, and have the time to truly work on developing their relationship, once and for all.

With so many things happening all at once for the past few and the _next_ few days, she felt that she was at the last stretch of a very long, very tiring, and very complex marathon. The marathon had started last Saturday when Ranma and she had sat for hours in his room, registering for the ART, and coming up with a credible dojo business plan. The day after that, Sunday, they had spent the day enjoying their first date. The two days after their date –Monday and Tuesday, they had spent continuing their preparations for ART, including confirming their travel arrangements, going over hotel reservations, reading the participant's guide for the tournament, adjusting their plans to fit the rules of the contest, and began typing up their business plan.

By Wednesday, their morning training had been interrupted by Nodoka's random phone call, requesting help to watch over Kasumi's ill twins. Uncertain of their abilities to babysit, they all the same picked up the twins and spent the day watching over them. The day ended with Ranma's desperate attempts at preventing Akane from pushing up daisies that night.

As busy as their week had been, the remainder of the current week and the next were not going to be any better than the days they had left behind. On Thursday, Ranma had opened the dojo again while Akane went to school. He had gone over the tournament with the students, whom had been very excited about having the opportunity to attend. Akane had been surprised when she returned from school to find a stack of signed permission slips from all the minor students at the dojo.

Today, Akane had gone over with the parents of the young students, and the students who were already considered adults, the details of the trip and accommodations when attending the ART. Ranma had attended his last day of regular school, and when he returned, Akane relayed to him that the students had decided to organize fundraising events over the weekend and during the three days they would spend taking their exams, as a means to assist with the costs of the entire ordeal.

Just a while ago, Ranma and Akane had just finished meeting with Soun and Genma, explaining to them what their jobs were going to be from Monday to Wednesday of next week while they took twelve exams in three days. Genma and Soun were to help the students practice for the tryouts they would hold by the end of the week. The tryouts had been planned to resemble the same format the ART would follow. Allowing Soun and Genma to go over this with the students would save them time, and help them concentrate on passing their tests. Even though they went to school on different days, the final exams were all taken at the same time for all the students attending the accelerated school. Ranma was looking forward to facing Satoshi Nakajima during the exams, as he felt they had some unfinished business after Satoshi had interrupted them during his and Akane's date.

The next few days for them had already been absorbed by a wave of deadlines they had to meet. Having to ace their exams next week, Akane and Ranma had planned nothing for the weekend other than cramming all day and night. After taking their tests, they decided that they would have a one-day tryout next Thursday to gather their team of five. On Friday, they would close the dojo early for regular teachings, and meet with the final five students that would attend ART with them so that at the end of the day–a week from today, they would go back to Furinkan High to pick up their test results. They would take Saturday and Sunday off for the New Year celebrations, before returning to dojo duties during that week, in preparation for the ART, which would take place two weekends from today.

Since the tournament would last two days only, they would be back to Nerima in no time to continue their trainings at the dojo, and begin their studies for college entrance exams to take place in May. Even though they were still not certain what majors they would choose, their ability to be accepted to any University depended highly on their final exams' scores, and their entrance exam scores. After that, remaining in college was entirely up to their efforts and grades while attending it.

Akane sighed deeply, her head still spinning at reviewing their busy agenda. She had left the Tendo home a few minutes ago, heading to her sister's home. After arguing with Ranma about her need to visit a doctor, she finally agreed she would visit Doctor Tofu today, but only if he did not go in with her. She knew that Ranma would have wanted to sit next to her, as Ono performed his check-up, but Ranma could not know that something was indeed wrong with her.

While she was not sure herself what her illness was, she had been feeling under the weather for a few weeks now. She had been able to hide most of her symptoms from him, until two nights ago when he had miraculously, and effectively, learned the ice technique to save her life. After the panic of that night, Ranma had been able to pick-up on the other techniques with much greater ease. After she had questioned him why he had all of a sudden become an expert on nature techniques, he had reluctantly confessed to her that her most recent near-death experience had helped him learn the rest of the techniques.

When she asked him to clarify what he had meant, he told her that he had memorized the same feeling of despair, desperation, and urge to save her life that night, and had applied it to learning the rest of the techniques. Forcing himself to believe that her life was in danger again, made it easier to overlook the obstacles of practicing the art, allowing him to invoke what he needed, when he needed it, just as that night.

"_Seeing you like that, knowing that your life depended on me, it forced me to get it right," _he had told her. _"I was terrified, Akane. I thought I would lose you again, and to a shitty fever, at that."_

Akane had no longer pushed the matter with him after his forced admission, and he had been grateful for it. His experience with her illness had been one of the reasons why she agreed to seek medical help. His reaction to her fever had proven to her that her assumptions were correct. Ranma would drop everything they had on their plate for the sake of her health. She could not let him do that, not so close to the end. Feeling that they were so close to finally finding some closure to the ordeal of certifying the dojo, it could not be interrupted by whatever cold or flu she had picked up.

In addition, she needed something to patch up her symptoms while she took her exams, and before and during the tournament, as well. Even though she was just to sit there and cheer them on throughout the battles, she knew that if Ranma thought she was not well enough to be at the tournament, he would distract himself from the fight at hand. Ranma, registered as the Master of the Dojo, was guaranteed at least one round in the tournament, so all his attention was needed at winning that fight.

She finally arrived at Dr. Tofu's clinic, and knocked on the door, three times. The door was immediately opened by Ono himself, letting Akane know that Kasumi said hi, but was busy recovering from chicken pox, which she had eventually picked up after graduation, after all.

"At least it held off until it didn't matter, uh?" Akane joked with the doctor.

"And she's very happy about that fact."

"Have you gotten chicken pox, Dr. Tofu?"

"Yes, my mother, rest her soul, made me play with the sick kids of the block. She said it was better for me to get it as a kid rather than an adult. I've never heard Kasumi cuss until last night when the itching became slightly unbearable for her."

"I hope you recorded that!"

"I should have!"

The two friends laughed it off as Tofu led Akane to his office. He performed the classic pulse and temperature reading, and weight and pressure measurement. After pulling her file from his cabinet, he sat on his chair, and invited Akane to sit across from him at his desk.

"So, what brings you here today, Akane?"

"Ranma."

Dr. Tofu looked around, waiting for the man in question to jump out of nowhere but when he did not, he frowned at Akane.

"I didn't let him come with me, but I need your written clearance in order to return home," she said, sarcastically.

Tofu laughed at Ranma's demands, knowing that Akane probably had some sort of bug she had picked up from the twins while babysitting them, and was overly exaggerating her current health.

"Speaking of which, make sure to thank him for watching over Ichiro and Kazue. And you, too, Akane. You saved our lives that night."

"And he saved mine."

"I beg your pardon," Tofu asked, concerned about how the light conversation had quickly turned dark.

"He made me come here because I had a bad fever that night, and he had to give me an ice bath."

"I see," the doctor said, suddenly becoming all business-like again. "Are you still feeling sick?"

Akane fidgeted on her seat. How much should she really tell the doctor? How much was enough to get the medicine for her symptoms, and a note for Ranma to get him off her back?

"Akane?"

"I'm not sure."

"Akane," he said, putting down her file and leaning closer to her. "'You can tell me what's really wrong with you. This is between you and me. Ranma will find out only if you want him to, alright?"

Akane sighed, knowing her silence had already given out too much to back down now.

"I, well…before the fever, I'd been feeling very dizzy, sometimes I even pass out."

The doctor, seeing she was slowly opening up, took out a notepad and began taking notes of her symptoms.

"And, I've been waking up nauseous a lot of the days. I've thrown up a handful of times, even when I haven't eaten anything yet."

Even though Akane had not finished the list of her random symptoms, the doctor was already formulating possible reasons for them in his mind.

"I've been feeling very tired, too. A few days ago, Ranma took me out on a date, and at the end of it, we were sitting at the park. At some point, I fell asleep. I didn't even realize I had until I woke up at home the next morning."

Tofu made some quick notes on his notepad before looking up to her, seeing the obvious distress written all over her face. "Have you had any mood swings? I mean, more than usual?" he offered as a joke to attempt to ease the mood.

"I guess. That night that Ranma gave me that ice bath, I was so mad at him for it. A part of me understood why he was doing it, and was grateful for it. Yet, another part of me wanted to break his neck, and I started punching him and kicking him, calling him names and such. It was so odd."

"Have you had any headaches?"

"Yeah, mostly in the morning, but I guess it's because I don't sleep well. We've got a lot of things in our mind, so they keep us up at night, sometimes."

Tofu pushed himself back to his chair, and rubbed his chin while he thought about his next question.

"_Us_?"

"What?"  
"You said: Keep _us_ up at night. Who is _us_?"

Akane felt her face burn in embarrassment. It had been bad enough that Nodoka thought she and Ranma were having sex, but now the doctor thought so, too. She twisted the hair around her face in an attempt to calm down.

"Us, as in Ranma and I. We're going through the same thing, so we sometimes stay up, talking about it, you know?"

"Is he having the same symptoms as you?"

"No, or at least he hasn't told me about them."

The doctor stared at her before standing up from his chair and walking towards his cabinet. He took out free samples of medicine for Akane, and handed them to her. "This will help with the nausea and headaches, take them as needed. I could also give you something to sleep but I don't think you want oversleeping the next few days."

Akane held the medicine in her hands for a few seconds, and then shoved them inside her pockets.

"Thanks. Is that all?"

"I can't do much about the dizziness, but you can try to sleep longer, drink plenty of fluids, and stay out of the sun as much as you can. I know that you and Ranma are training for that tournament, but don't push yourself too hard, OK?"

"OK."

He turned around and grabbed a chair, pulling it closer so that he was sitting next to her at eye-level before speaking with her again. "Akane, you know you can trust me, right?"

Akane nodded, but not daring to say a word.

"I'm going to ask you a very important question, and I need you to be honest with me, OK?"

Akane nodded again, knowing exactly what his question would be, as she had asked herself the same question the morning of their date.

"Have you missed your cycle?"

Akane lowered her head, unable to meet his eyes. When she did not respond, he nodded, understanding what her silence meant. He stood up, walked to his desk, opened his drawer and pulled out a few forms. "When?"

"Two weeks ago."

"Would you object to a blood draw? I'd like to run some tests."

"I'd be alright with that, I guess."

"OK. Wait right here while I get it ready. Do you mind reading and signing these forms. They're consent orders for me to be able to take your blood and send it for testing."

Akane nodded and grabbed the forms, reading and filling them out one by one. Meanwhile, Ono walked towards his cabinet and took out the necessary tools to draw a few samples of her blood. By the time he was ready, she had finished signing the forms, leaving them on his desk before walking up to him and sitting on the patient's examination table.

After a few minutes, Tofu held three small test tubes with Akane's blood. He labeled them with her information, deposited them in a clear plastic resealable bag, and stored them inside the sample collection fridge. He skimmed through the forms to make sure they were correct, and Akane held onto her arm, cleaning up any blood that was left on her skin. It would be difficult to hide the obvious wound from Ranma, but she decided it would probably work to her benefit once the results came back to her.

"I have a friend who owns a lab not far from here. He can get me these back to us Sunday afternoon. Do you mind stopping by then?"

"Of course not."

"Very well. I would give you something else for your symptoms, but I want to make sure of some things, first."

"I understand. Thank you, Dr. Tofu."

She bowed to him, not waiting for him to acknowledge her as she headed for the door.

"Akane?" he called her name, stopping her in her tracks.

"Yes?"

"Whatever this turns out to be, you don't have to do it alone, you know?"

Akane shook her head. This was not what she needed right now. She was probably scared over nothing, and she hoped she and the doctor would laugh at the whole situation on Sunday afternoon. "I know."

"Are you going to tell Ranma to come with you?"

"No. No sense on bothering him about it."

"If you think that's for the best."

"I do."

"OK. See you Sunday, Akane."

"See you Sunday, Dr. Tofu."

And with that, she left the clinic in a hurry, leaving a concerned doctor behind. She took her time returning home, knowing that Ranma was going to be there waiting for her to arrive. She could almost hear his incessant questioning about her visit to Tofu, and then his face when he saw the band-aid on her arm. It was moments like this, she wished that, for just a second, Ranma would go back in time and be his old, immature, woman-insecure self. She mentally hit herself on the head when she remembered all the times she had stayed up at night as teenager, begging for Ranma to finally gain some sense and show her that he cared.

_"What did I know, huh?"_

She continued her aimless walk around the blocks close to her home until she stopped in front of a pharmacy. She already had the pills Tofu had given her for some of the symptoms she had, but after he had drawn her blood, she was curious of the results of the tests she knew he was running for her. She walked inside the pharmacy and greeted the attendant with a smile.

"Good evening," the old female attendant responded with a smile, as well.

Akane walked in between all the aisles, even though she knew what she was here to get. She did not believe she would be able to buy the item she was searching for without gathering some unneeded attention from the clerk. She ran down the aisles a couple of more times until she finally stopped in front of the shelf that held what she was looking for. As she stared at the variety of brands she could choose from, she wondered if she really needed the item in the first place. As she felt lost in the abundance of options for such a simple product, her mind wandered to the specific memory that made her unsure of the results Tofu had requested to run.

_Akane was stirred awake by Ranma's constant moving next to her. He had made it a habit to sneak into her room in the middle of the night after she returned from China, but today the roles were reversed. This time, she had surprised him by being the sneaking into his room at his parents' house. After the initial surprise of seeing her there, he had been more than thrilled to see her standing there in her pajamas, asking him if he wanted some company. _

_ Akane had been happy to learn that Ranma did not snore, and he had remained still, for most of the night. That was until he had begun shifting positions ever so often for the past fifteen minutes. She thought he was just readjusting his position, seeing as his bed was a little crammed at the moment, but after she had called his name and he did not respond, she realized he was having a bad dream._

_ She had been able to go back to sleep almost instantaneously after the last nudge, but when he began talking in his sleep, she turned around and was stopped in her tracks when she heard him speak again._

_"Dammit, Akane! Wake up!" he mumbled in his sleep._

_ Realizing that she was obviously awake, and that he was not, she nudged him again but the only response she was able to elicit from him was resuming his mumbling._

"_Look at me, Akane."_

_ Akane, now even more confused, pushed herself closer to him, hoping he would be able to see that she was right there next to him, wide-awake, staring right at him._

_ "Look at me, I said! I'm touching your bare body. Wake up and tell me I'm a perv! Wake up and mallet me to Nerima!"_

_ It was then Akane realized what was happening. She remembered those words. Even though her body was unmoving, she remembered every single word he had told her back in Jusenkyo._

_ "Ranma, you're having a bad dream. Wake up."_

_ Ranma began raising his voice, making her nervous that Nodoka or Genma were going to walk in and see her there with him. "The least you can do is come back to me, Akane! I think I deserve it after everything I did for you!"_

_ "I did, Ranma. I came back to you. Open your eyes, please."_

_ However, he did not. He began sobbing in his sleep, making Akane's efforts to awake him stop._

"_Come back to me, Akane."_

"_Ranma, I'm here."_

_She saw Ranma shiver and make choking sounds, perhaps reliving what he had felt when Kiima had made the last attempt at exerting her revenge. His suffering ended when his eyes opened and he sat up on the bed. He hyperventilated and clenched the covers within his fists. Akane, not certain if he was awake or just sleepwalking, reached over to him to place her hand on his face._

_Ranma's reflexes kicked in and he grabbed her arm before it ever reached him. He growled and glared at her, tightening the grip on her hand. She did not dare to say or do anything, afraid from his response. After a few seconds, his eyes softened and he uttered her name._

"_Yes, Ranma. It's me. You were dreaming. I'm alright."_

_Ranma loosened the grip on her arm, but did not release her. Instead, he pulled her closer and kissed her. Akane, thinking he was just making sure she was actually there, responded to his kiss, which only made his desire increase. He grabbed her with both of his arms and flipped her, so that she was under him. He pressed his body onto her, and held her in place without ever letting go of her lips._

_When he finally broke the kiss, Akane thought he had calmed down, but he began placing kisses on her neck and she felt his hand move under her pajama shirt, slowly moving up to touch her breast. Akane gasped at his bold move, but did not stop him. They had made out in the past, but it was usually during commercials when watching a show, or after watching a movie at her house, on the couch. It had yet to come to this level, but she did not have the heart to stop him after just seeing him wake up in tears._

_Seeing that she was not stopping him, his hands became more liberal as to where they explored, making her realize this was not a normal make-out session. He took turns kissing her lips, her neck, and every inch of her face. When he began unbuttoning her shirt, his intentions became very clear._

"_Ranma…"_

"_Akane, do you want me to stop?"_

_She swallowed hard and considered his question. Did she want him to stop? How far could they really go? Knowing that she would not know until she tried, she shook her head and gave him the OK to continue. He did not miss a beat and finished removing her shirt before allowing her to remove his. He continued his kisses to her as he lifted his body and sat on the bed, pulling her with him and helped her sit on his lap, with her legs wrapped around his waist._

_He held her in place by using his right arm to support her back, and kissed her neck while his left hand pulled down one of the straps of her bra. He continued his assault on her neck and chest until the piece of lingerie fell down on the floor. He had seen Akane in less than this before, but knowing this time not only was it voluntary, but that it was also going somewhere, made him moan in pleasure. _

_Akane pushed him down onto the bed, cradling on him as she did. He let out of soft moan, which she cut short when her lips locked on his. She was returning the favor to him by taking her time exploring his exposed torso and neck, and using her hands to pull the string of his pants, allowing her to lower them just enough to graze on his manhood without making him go over the edge._

_Ranma's senses heightened at his, pulling her closer to him and stopping her one last time before there was no turning back. "Are you sure you want to do this?"_

"Can I help you?"

Akane almost jumped out of her skin at the attendant's question, interrupting her memory of that night. Akane realized that she had probably been staring at the aisle for quite some time, causing even more unnecessary attention towards herself. "I'm sorry. Your selection is so varied; I don't know which one to get."

The old woman walked up to Akane and looked at all the boxes in front of them, finally deciding on one and handing it to Akane. "This is the one my granddaughter used, recently. It won't fail you."

Akane nodded, still slightly embarrassed to be caught off guard like that. She grabbed the box and thanked the attendant.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?"

Akane shook her head. She followed the woman to the register, and after paying for the item, she opened the box and took out the instructions and the item itself before sticking it inside her pants to prevent Ranma from seeing it. She then crumpled up the box and threw it inside the closest trashcan she could find. Seeing she had no other excuse to be walking around at night, she made her way home.

When she finally arrived, she opened the door expecting Ranma to jump from the ceiling and corner her with questions. She flinched, expecting the hit, but when it never came, she frowned and went straight to the living room. She found Ranma sitting on the couch, watching some old TV show, not even showing signs that he had noticed she had arrived. When she got closer to him, he turned to her and smiled, patting the space next to him, and Akane took it immediately after his invitation.

She stared at the TV, not really paying attention to what was happening in the show, as she waited for Ranma to make an attempt to know how her visit had gone. He opened his mouth to speak and she rehearsed her answers in her head, ready for any question he could throw at her regarding the topic.

"So, what time are we studying tomorrow?"

"Uh?"

"Study. Tomorrow. Finals are next week, remember?"

Akane blinked several times, repeating his question in her head. "Uhm…how about 9? I'd like to sleep in."

Ranma nodded. "I figured; it's been a long week."

Akane returned her face to the TV, glancing at Ranma from the corners of her eyes, every now and then. He just sat there, holding a bottle of soda, and drinking from it ever so often. After fifteen minutes of silence, Akane could not take it anymore.

"Aren't you gonna ask me how it went?"

"No."

Akane pulled back at his quick response. She scratched the back of her head before returning to her original position, staring at the TV. Once the show ended, Ranma offered the remote to Akane, who declined it. He shrugged and turned off the TV before standing up and making his way out of the living room. Akane, still confused with his odd behavior, ran behind him and caught him as he was going up the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"I have a surprise for you, come on up."

"Surprise?"

He did not say anything else as she followed him upstairs and into her room. When she walked in, he was already sitting on her bed, with a box in his hands. "I didn't get a chance to wrap it. I hope you don't mind."

Akane walked towards him and grabbed the box from his hands. "I thought we'd agreed we weren't going to get anything for Christmas."

"I didn't. This is more of a_ tool_, to keep my worries in check."

Akane frowned, not truly following what he had meant. She shook the box before opening it up and taking out its contents. She held the small artifact in her hand, and shrugged as she held it close to her face.

"A cell phone?"

Ranma nodded as he took out his own and showed it to her. He shook it in his hand and placed it on her desk. "It's already activated. I thought it would come in handy during the tournament."

Akane stared at the phone as she opened it, turning it on and seeing the wallpaper of its screen was a picture of them at the park.

"I took the liberty of personalizing some stuff on it. I hope you don't mind that either."

She shook her head and closed the lid before placing it in her pockets. She stood there, a dozen questions waiting to be asked, but Ranma already knew that he had some explaining to do.

"That night, I had no one to call. So, I realized if we both had a phone, we could find each other or someone else, easier when we needed it. Don't you think?"

"I guess so."

"For example, you could have used it just now when you left Tofu's office tonight to tell me you were on your way."

Akane flinched.

"What for, Dr. Tofu's office is five minutes from here."

"I know. Where were you for the last hour?"

Akane felt anger slowly creeping up inside her, but she took a deep breath to avoid releasing it just yet. "Are you spying on me or something, now?"

Ranma shook his head. His face and tone were serious, but his stance was a relaxed one. "Just curious. I called Tofu to find out how it went, and he told me you were fine, and just needed some rest. But that was an hour ago. If Tofu's office is only a five-minute walk from here, how come I was able to go home, picked these up," he said as he pointed to the phones, "come back, program them, and you weren't home yet?"

"I didn't know you were keeping track of every minute of my day. Did I need your permission to go for a walk?"

"Akane, you're taking this the wrong way."

"Am I?"

"Yes, you are. Tofu said you needed some rest, so I figured you would come straight back here. I thought you had passed out on the way here, or something worse."

Akane's anger, which was ready to flare, immediately disappeared. "Well, I didn't. I just needed some fresh air."

Ranma nodded, getting up from the bed and hugging her. He placed his left arm around her waist, and his right hand rested on her head.

"I'm not trying to control your life, Akane. I'm really not. I know I have a letting-Akane-be issue, and I'm working on it. I just worry about you, you know."

"I know Ranma, but you have to trust me. I'm fine. Tofu gave me some medicine to control the problem for now. He's even running blood tests so that you can feel better about me checking on my health. Will that help?"

Ranma nodded. "We'll, I better let you rest. Tofu warned me that I shouldn't be getting in the way of your beauty sleep."

Akane chuckled. "Did he?"

"Yup. I promised him I wouldn't worry you or n'ting."

"Did he also say you had to eat my cooking?"

"He seemed to have missed that part."

Akane pushed him away from her with a playful shove. He laughed it off and returned to her, kissing her lightly on the lips. "I'll see you tomorrow at 9. OK?"

"OK."

He gave her one last kiss before leaving her room, gathering his shoes from the entrance and waved goodbye as he locked the door behind him. Akane, seeing he was gone for the night, remembered the reason she had been late coming home. She ran down the stairs and made sure Ranma was out of sight before turning off the lights. Soun was staying at Genma's for the night, as Genma had complained that they had to make up for lost time when he was away with Nabiki. Nabiki, in turn, had made plans to spend the night at a friend's house, which she had made while away in college. Akane wondered if this friend happened to be a guy, since she had left the home very well dressed up, but decided it was not her business what her sister did in her own time.

Akane returned upstairs and went into the bathroom. She took out the stick and instructions, and read the indications for it. Once she was sure she followed them, she proceeded to take the first steps of the test. After she was done, she grabbed the stick and the instructions, and made her way back to her room, locking the door behind her.

She placed the instructions and the pregnancy test on her desk as she paced around the room. "Three minutes. Wait three minutes."

She began cleaning up around her room, hoping the time would pass by quickly. She began sorting through her books and notes, knowing they would be using them tomorrow. She looked at her watch and growled when only one minute had passed. She walked up to the stick but no color had appeared on it yet. She walked away from it again, and took her hamper out of her room and into the hall to remind her to wash clothes tomorrow morning. She then walked downstairs, grabbed a bottle of water and returned to her room.

She chugged down half of the bottle in one gulp. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and closed the bottle before throwing it on her bed. "Thirty seconds."

She grabbed the instructions in one hand, and the stick in the other as she counted down the seconds to the final result. She walked to the foot of her bed, facing her open closet and stared at her clothes. "Am I going to have to get a new wardrobe?"

She shook her head, forcing herself not to get ahead of herself as she looked down at the stick as it slowly began showing the first signs of a result. She felt her heart beating faster and she closed her eyes, unable to see the form of the image on the stick. She counted down in her head as the time ran out.

"_6, 5, 4, 3, 2…"_

The time ran out, but she could not force herself to open her eyes. She swallowed the knot in her throat as she opened her eyes. "Here goes nothing…"

She took a deep breath and began lowering her eyes to the stick, reciting as she did, the possible results and what they meant. "A plus is positive, a line is negative. A plus is positive, a line is negative. A plus is positive, a line is negative."

Her eyes were almost on the perfect spot to read the result, when a loud bang startled her off her path.

"Oi, Akane! I forgot my cell phone!"

Akane head snapped straight as she froze in place. She heard Ranma finish opening the window. All she could think of was the test she had in her hands. She heard him jump into her room and the shuffling as he looked for his phone under the trash of the box where the cellphone had been until he gave his back to her and found his phone on her desk.

"Ah! Here is its!"

Akane knew he would come to her and see what she was doing, unmoving, at the foot of her bed. She could not let him see what she was doing. He would know something was wrong after all the work she had done to keep him in the dark. She could not run out of her room, he could suspect something fishy was going on. She decided to do the only thing she could.

She invoked the fire technique to her hands and burned the test and the instructions to ashes in less than a second. By the time Ranma walked up behind her, she sat on the bed, her open palms facing up, with a pile of ash on each one.

"Akane? What are you doing?"

She cleared her throat and looked down, grateful that her powers had worked and seeing both items were gone. Gone, however, was her chance to find out what the result had been.

"I'm testing the techniques…seeing how fast I can call on them to burn…stuff?"

Ranma scoffed. "Stupid, Akane. You should have done this on the sink or outside. You're gonna get ash all over your floor. Let me go get the trashcan."

Akane nodded and gave him a fake smile as he left the room. She let out a sigh to calm down. When Ranma returned, Akane was visibly more relaxed as he helped her clean up her hands. "Sorry I scared you. I forgot my keys and locked the door when I left."

"It's OK."

Once he was done, he placed the phone in his pocket and kissed her goodbye. Akane saw him leave her room through her window, and she locked it after him, hoping it would prevent another surprise visit from him. She went to bed, cursing her luck. She would have no choice but to wait for the tests results to come back.

xxxXXXxxx

The next day, Ranma appeared at her door at 9 a.m., sharp. She welcomed him and guided him to the living room, where their books waited for them. They spent the first half of the day with their faces in the books. They would take turns quizzing each other regarding concepts, definitions, and competing to see who would solve a problem faster –and correct, than the other would. They continued at that pace until about two in the afternoon, when Nabiki walked in, finally returning from visiting her _friend_.

"Hey, lovebirds. What are you up to?"

"Studying."

"I see," she said staring at the battleground that was the living room. "Well, if you make some space around there, I'll leave a box of pizza with you."

Ranma perked up at the idea. "Really?"

Nabiki nodded as she walked inside the room. "I brought one for you two, and one for dad. Where_ is_ dad, anyway?"

"He's upstairs, hungover."

"I take it he overextended his stay at Uncle Genma's last night?"

"Guess so."

Nabiki left the box of pizza on the table before waving goodbye to them and heading upstairs to watch over her dad. Ranma did not waste any time in opening the box and grabbing a slice. Akane, on the other hand, walked to the kitchen to grab napkins and plates, and returned to her spot at the living room.

"Hey, Akane. When are you gonna go get those results?"

"What results?"

"Blood test?"

"Oh! Tomorrow, afternoon."

"Can I come with?"

Akane panicked. No, he could _not_ come with. How was she supposed to keep it a secret if he heard it directly from Tofu's mouth? She knew that if she said no, he would find a way to invite himself at the last minute. She thought about how to deter him from going with her, and decided the best approach would be to make it an uncomfortable choice.

"I don't see why not. I was thinking of taking you anyway, so Tofu can draw some blood from you, too. I figured that since I was being tested, you should too to make sure everything is normal before the tournament. I'm glad you thought about it, too."

Ranma's bite of pizza fell from his mouth. He did not see that backfiring on him. He hated needles, and tests, but what he hated the most was getting blood drawn from him.

"Uh, do you really think that will be necessary?"

Akane smiled, knowing her plan had worked. "Of course! In fact, let me call him right now to tell him to be ready for you," she said as she took out her brand new cell phone and began dialing a random number.

"No! Wait! I just remembered I'm gonna be busy tomorrow. I actually can't go with you. Sorry."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Oh, shucks! Well, I'll let you know how it went, OK?"

"Sure."

Ranma did not mention anything related to her visit tomorrow to Dr. Tofu again, afraid that she would end up forcing him to go with her. After they finished eating, they returned to studying until around ten at night. At that time, Ranma left the Tendo residence, promising to return at the same time the next day.

Knowing that he would, and did, Akane left the living room in the same disarrayed state they had left it, and went straight to bed. The next day, Akane left Ranma to his own devices at around six in the afternoon, making her way to doctor Tofu's office, as previously arranged. Five minutes after she had left her home, she arrived at his clinic, with the same nervousness she had felt two days ago during her failed attempt at testing herself at home.

"Glad to see you again, Akane. Come on in."

Akane bowed to him before walking inside, heading straight to his office in the back. He went around his desk and sat on his chair. Akane did not wait for the invitation, and sat across from him just like last time. "I just got the results back. Haven't even read them myself."

Akane's face faulted. She had hoped that his good mood was an indication that everything was all right. Sadly, she was mistaken. He grabbed an unopened envelope that lay on his desk, and tore it open. He took out another folder inside and when that folder was torn open, he took out a handful of printed papers. He flattened the papers on his desk before holding them steady in his hands and reading the results. He read the papers a few times, frowning as he did. After he finished reading them, he handed them to Akane, who was short of snatching them from his hands as she began to read.

After she read the first three pages and could not understand what they meant, she looked up and faced Tofu. "What does this mean, I don't understand."

"Read the last page, it's in layman terms on the last box."

Akane found the last page and read the paragraph of results a few times until she digested every single word. Sighing loudly, she threw the papers on the desk and covered her face with her hands.

"Disappointed or surprised?" Tofu finally asked.

"Not sure yet."

The doctor allowed Akane to absorb the situation, and he just stared at her reactions, waiting for her next step.

She stood up and paced around the room, covering her mouth with her hand. "Will this _condition_ prevent me from participating in the Tournament?"

The doctor was afraid that would be her main concern, but had expected nothing less from her at the moment.

"Not at this stage, but you should rest plenty before the tournament and during, if you can. I would still like to run some other tests, after the tournament."

Akane nodded, relieved that she could still go on with her plans for now. After more pacing, she finally sat down again and handed the papers back to the doctor to save in her file. "Well, that's that. Thank you very much, doctor. I better get going now."

The doctor grabbed the papers and walked to his filing cabinet, searching for Akane's medical file as he spoke. "Don't you think Ranma should know?"

Akane sighed, giving a hint of her response.

"No, he'll overreact and not let me participate. I have practiced as much as him, and I can't leave everything in his hands."

"He wouldn't mind…"

"No, doctor. I won't tell him, and he won't find out in any other way, right?"

The doctor nodded. He had made his promise, and he would not tell Ranma what was happening with his fiancée, at least not for now. When Akane felt certain that the doctor would not blab to Ranma, she bowed to him and made her way out of the clinic, running as fast she could, not stopping until she reached her house.

As soon as she walked in, she found Ranma sitting at the bottom of the stairs. She gave him the best smile she could give, and he understood it as a sign that everything was OK. "Want to chill for the rest of the night?" he asked, walking towards her, and offering his hand.

Akane nodded, grabbed his hand, and walked with him to the living room. Once they sat, Ranma turned on the TV and they both got comfortable on the couch. After watching TV for a few minutes, Ranma cleared his throat, getting ready to ask a question that had been bothering him for some time.

"Akane, are you asleep?"

"No."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah," she said, afraid that he was going to further inquire about her alleged illness and her visit with Tofu.

"How did you do it?"

"How did I do what?"

"How did you defeat Saffron?"

She closed her eyes. The moment where he asked her the question had finally come. She figured it was about time – after two years of wondering, he had finally come out and asked. She grabbed the remote and lowered the volume of the TV, but still left it on.

"How much do you want know?"  
"Everything."

"Alright."

She shifted her position so that she was now facing him, while still sitting on the couch. He mimicked her position and concentrated on paying attention to every detail of the story she was about to start.

* * *

**A/N:** Hey, all! Next chapter is called _Anterior_, and it will tell us how, exactly, Akane defeated Saffron. See you then!


	7. Anterior

**Chapter 6: Anterior**

Akane did not move from where she fell, but her eyes were wide in shock. Ranma looked at Saffron and he was smiling as if he had killed them both. Ranma looked back at Akane and her look of shock had not changed. Lord Saffron began laughing hysterically before speaking again.

"Well, my job here is done. Not exactly what I had in mind, but I can still go to your city in Japan and kill you and your friends."

Ranma growled. What were they all looking at? She pointed at him and screamed at the top of her lungs. "What the fuck are you laughing at?"

Then she realized what was so hilarious to Saffron, and devastating to Akane. Ranma took her hand to her mouth and then her throat.

The worst had happened.

"_My voice…it changed…"_

Ranma turned to face Akane and saw her approaching her. She stood in front of her and shook her head.

"Ranma! No!" she began. "There is no cure! I told you to leave it up to me!"

"Akane," she said, hearing the familiar voice emanating from herself, again.

"You will never be a man again!"

Ranma's heart beat faster, and she felt the adrenaline that had taken over her to save Akane, quickly leaving her.

"Ranma, you have to go."

"I can't…" he hated her voice. She loved it when it came from the woman in front of her, but it was unnatural to come from her.

"There's nothing else you can do here. Your manhood…is gone."

"NO! AKANE, you're all I have!" she screamed and held on to Akane, but she knew that she was done. There was nothing else she could do to help her, or anyone, even herself. She had been reduced from a man, to a half man, to now…a full woman. A woman that was half a red pigtailed girl, and half…

Akane grabbed Ranma's hand and held it close to her heart. "Warn the others; warn them of Saffron's plan."

"Akane, please."

"Ryoko…"

"What?"

"…Homu…"

"Akane, what are you doing?"

"…Pasu."

Akane finished her chant, which caused Ranma to begin feeling warmth around her. She looked at Akane and then at Saffron, who still had a smug smile on his face. She looked down and saw her body was disappearing. She felt the pull of something, far away from her and she panicked. She tried to hold on to Akane but her hands would just go right through her.

"Akane, what did you do to me?"

"Sending you home. Warn them all, Ranma. It's up to you now."

"NO! AKANE! DON'T SEND ME HOME! LET ME STAY!"

"Ranma, I can hold my own. Don't worry. I had a great sensei."

Ranma tried desperately to hold on to anything, but her form was almost gone from sight.

"AAAKKAAANEEEE, I BEG YOUUUU!"

"Bye, Ranma."

And Ranma was gone.

Akane blinked back the tears that had formed in her eyes. It was done. She had sent Ranma back to Nerima, and unless she was able to defeat the Prince of the Phoenix people, she would never see Ranma again.

"That was very desperate of you, Captain. Are you afraid of what I would do to him?"

"Afraid?" she scoffed. "He had no business here. This is my fight, remember?"

"I think you just didn't want him to see you lose."

Akane swallowed hard, still staring at the spot Ranma had been standing on, just seconds ago. Just over a week ago, they had been enjoying each other's company, just as before –even if she did not remember it at the time, and now he was gone. She blamed herself for letting it get that far. If she had just sent him back before Saffron knew of his presence in battle, she could have prevented him losing the last trace of his manhood. Akane felt fresh tears falling from her eyes again, but she wiped them with the back of her clawed hand.

"Your freak just left, and you already miss him? What is it with you, landlings, and your _ridiculous_ emotions?"

Akane's head snapped, facing Saffron. "_Don't_ call him a freak. That _landling_ defeated you last time, and this," she said pointing at herself, "this _landling_ will defeat you this time."

Saffron chuckled at her quick defense of Ranma, attempting to mask his true feeling: jealousy. He stared at her stance, relaxed but aware. It reminded him of the stance Ranma used when he fought him. Even though she was currently using the body of her cursed form, she still resembled Ranma. Her attitude, her words, her will to sacrifice her life for his…it was a painful reminder that this woman in front him was still loyal to his enemy.

The rain had increased just the slightest, affecting his servants by turning them back into their human forms. None of them would be a match for him –not that they had before, so he knew that it was just her against him. He had wasted the water of the spring of the Drowned Akane on Ranma, so that strategy was out of the way, for now. He would have to resort to calling on the nature techniques and somehow douse her with hot water, once the rain stopped. She had given him a good fight while still in her Akane form, but he knew that her inability to fly in her human form would prove a great disadvantage for her.

His intention was not to end her life. His intention was to neutralize her long enough to make her see that Ranma had nothing to offer her, anymore. Now that he was not a man anymore, her feelings for him were obsolete. How he had lost control of her, he did not know. Yet, he knew that regaining it would be possible, if given the appropriate time.

He walked up to her, taking small steps as he did so. She did not move from where she stood, but she extended her hand to call on the Gekkaja. As he neared her, he called on the Kinjakan, and held it in his hand. The tools of the sacred water taps had been entrusted to them, and each one had been bonded with their own tool. When he was but inches away from her, he lifted his free hand and used it to caress her face.

"Why do you fight me? Have you forgotten what happened between us?"

Akane did not move but she frowned at him. Just months ago, his touch would have sent her down to her knees, but now that her memories were back, all she felt for the man in front of her was revulsion.

"Whatever happened does not mean anything to me anymore, nor did it ever to you. I know you just used to me to get to him. But I will not let you touch him. Your plan will not see the day of light, I can assure you that."

Saffron chuckled at her determination to protect the landling she had just sent back home, without his consent. He stuck the Kinjakan on the ground, allowing his other hand to be free. He then lifted his hand and cupped Akane's face with both of his hands.

"You're almost correct, my dear. I can kiss my army of landlings goodbye, but he has just become another one of those imbecile, weaklings your race is filled with. He is no longer invincible; and I'm still immortal. I can crush him with my bare hands, and I can make you watch."

Akane glared at Saffron, knowing what he was thinking. He had asked Akane to earn Ranma's trust so that she could create a spring of the Drowned Ranma. With the new powers he had discovered in his last rebirth, he was able to create more powerful cursed springs; springs that would take in not only the physical look of a person who fell in them, but also the same abilities, emotions and memories of the poor soul who fell inside. He planned to create his own army of Ranma soldiers, under his command thanks to the power of the surikomi eggs. He would extract his memories; learn his entire being, including his techniques and weaknesses. Anything he could get his hands on that would serve him in having his revenge. He had never been one to thirst taking over the world, but he had planned to travel to Nerima and destroy the one place Ranma called home.

What Saffron was not aware of, was that Akane had been able to create the spring, but had held it a secret from him when she began realizing that perhaps her Lord was wrong. Her Lord had tried to convince her that Ranma was the real enemy of their kind. He had brainwashed her into believing that her deficiencies as a Phoenix had been his doing. He had gone as far as planting the seed of hate towards him when he had informed her that Ranma had been the reason his last rebirth had failed.

What was she to do, a woman in love with her Lord? What was she to believe, but the words of the man who had made her body tremble? She had believed that the way Lord Saffron treated her, was the normal way a woman was supposed to be treated by the man that she loved. However, after meeting Ranma, all of that changed. He had been so kind, and gentle with her, but also believed she could handle herself. He had been protective, and treated her with respect; attributes that Lord Saffron was not even aware existed. Now that she knew she was not Kiima, but Akane Tendo –Ranma Saotome's fiancée, her hopes that she would ever find a man like Ranma could come true. Someone out there who would return her love, did exist.

"Words. All you have is your words. They don't scare me, Saffron. _You_ don't scare me. You can't hurt me with words."

Saffron narrowed his eyes at her, sensing she was feeling many emotions, but fear was not one of them. Had she not had her memories returned to her, she would have been on her knees, begging for his forgiveness by now. Yet, she stood near him, allowing him to touch her, without a trace of fright in her eyes. It reminded him of why he had allowed her to stay after he found out who she really was.

After he had been killed by Ranma, he was reborn just a few days after that. Akane, posing as Kiima, had been there to sooth him and raise him until after six months he was able to go through his first rebirth of this life. She cared for him, day and night, until his second egg broke and he awoke as a ten-year old boy. She took the time to teach him the Phoenix ways, train with him, teaching him everything he knew. After six more months, his second rebirth occurred, and his egg broke to show a 20-year old man. She continued her teachings with him, and he became close to her. As a kid, he only saw her as a loyal servant who behaved as his babysitter and mentor. However, when he was reborn as a man, he started seeing her as a woman who would help carry on his legacy. He was the last member of the royal family of the Phoenix tribe; he had to assure the continuation of his species for generations to come.

His hopes were crushed when his servants did everything they could to steer him away from making her his wife. He could not understand why, a woman so suitable to be his queen, was labeled as unfit for the job. She had found a way to speed up his rebirth process, for Pete's sake! What in the world made her so unfit? It took him many weeks of probing, but he was finally told the truth about his Captain: she was not a pure Phoenix. In fact, she was not a Phoenix at all. He had been devastated, knowing that his anticipations of preserving his kind were based on false hope. As a way to prove their story to Saffron, his people challenging him to use the Jinsei Kako spell to return the memories of his past lives to him.

After a few days considering it, he finally used the spell and he was able to recall his fight with Ranma, and how the woman he thought was his Captain was actually his enemy's love interest. He was informed that the real Captain had perished in battle, and that for lack of better options, and under the departed Captain's orders, they kidnapped the Tendo girl and took her in as one of their own. They had expected her usefulness to quickly end, but when she proved to be a good leader and warrior for them, they let her stick around. Eventually, she would become a feared and respected member of their tribe, which was heightened when Lord Saffron began showing signs of his feelings for her. When he had announced to his oldest advisor of his intentions to wed, he had been told his wishes could not be fulfilled. After his memories returned to him, he made a vow to kill the man who had caused his premature demise, and to destroy everything he held dear. Partially, due to his insults to his being, but also because he held the heart of the woman he could never be with.

When he learned that Akane was the person his enemy cared for the most in his life, his hatred of Ranma increased. Not only had that human made a fool out of him, had dared traveled to his lands, destroyed his belongings, and embarrass his people, but he had also managed to end his life. And all for what? To save his beloved. The woman who clearly reciprocated his love, to the point of risking her life for his. The woman who had experienced the pain of having the water in her body evaporated out of her insides, and still fought by Ranma's side, as a measly doll. The woman who showed Ranma the way to place the final blow on his heart. The woman who had placed all her efforts in supporting her fiancée in his fight, to the point of standing up to a demigod that was twenty times her size.

"_That's what I loved about her, the fire she carried inside." _Lord Saffron thought, still holding her in his hands.

"Not all is lost, Captain. We can end this fight here, without the need to end your life. If you give up right now, I'll leave the landling out of it. Losing you and his manhood are punishment enough."

Akane chuckled. "You really don't know what I am capable of, Saffron. I'll make sure to give Ranma your regards when I go back to him."

Saffron's patience was running thin. He removed his hands from her face, and immediately slapped her on the face, throwing her on the ground. Akane wasted no time and rolled away from him, twirling the Gekkaja in her hand. "You know, I kissed the landling before I sent him back."

Saffron frowned, picking up his own tool from the ground and took a few steps back.

"I knew you were a filthy whore."

"Perhaps, but he proved to me one thing about you."

"What is that?"

"You're a lousy kisser."

Saffron reacted by pointing the Kinjakan towards her and threw a large flame towards her. She jumped in the air and used the Gekkaja to surround the ball of fire in a cube of ice, effectively dissipating Saffron's jealousy-fueled attack. He jumped in the air towards her and threw another fireball at her. She called on the power of her tool and twirled it in front of her, creating a barrier of ice that protected her from the flame. Saffron, however, had used it as a distraction, appearing behind her and hit her back with his own tool.

Akane screamed in pain as she was sent flying down to the ground, hitting the rocky surroundings with a loud thud, and then bouncing a couple of times until she was able to stop. She used the tool to push herself up, staring at the sky to search for Saffron. He had wasted no time in flying down towards her, attempting to catch her off-guard while she was still down. Akane fell to her knees, still disoriented after her crash, and stuck the Gekkaja in the ground, in front of her.

"Kaminari!" she screamed, invoking a bolt of lightning from the skies, falling directly on Saffron as he had almost reached her. Saffron fell to the ground, grinding his teeth as the electricity ran through his muscles, leaving him on all fours and smoking from his slightly charred clothes.

She pulled herself up by grabbing on the Gekkaja. When her hands reached the high parts of the tool, she propelled her body to twirl and aimed her kick towards Saffron's face. Just as Ranma had predicted, the Lord was weak to regular brute strength. Her kick made him fly backwards and land on his face, covering it with mud.

Taking a page of his book, Akane jumped in the air and aimed her wings at the fallen Lord, calling on her trademark Thousand Wings of the Seabird Attack, effectively pushing the Lord back to the ground, making his face stain with the mud he had just finished wiping off. He crouched over and screamed as his body became a human torch, effectively deflecting Akane's attack.

Akane attempted to fly towards him to attack him again, but Saffron turned around and pointed his tool at the sky.

"Tatsumaki!" he yelled, and before Akane could react, her body was engulfed in a fiery tornado. The powerful winds were making it difficult to breath, and her body began being slammed by the debris that lay on the floor, including the body parts of her fallen Phoenix soldiers. Saffron took this chance to lift himself from the ground, concentrating in making the tornado more powerful, hoping to suffocate her to death.

Akane opened her mouth, trying to get air into her lungs, but her attempts did not work. She began feeling dizzy and she clawed her throat in desperation at finding the much-needed air. _"I can't die like this. I have to… Ranma. Ranma is counting on me."_

She closed her eyes to concentrate, and used the last of her energy to call on the only technique she knew had the chance to get her out of her predicament.

"_Itai __Danketsu Sa Seru"_

Her body became limp, floating in the eye of the twister. Saffron saw her defeated stance, and smiled knowing he had bested his mentor. His victory was short-lived, though, as Akane's spell began taking effect on him. He began feeling his lungs burn with the lack of air, the same feeling Akane had before she blacked out.

"What is happening to me?"

He dropped his tool to claw at his chest and throat, feeling the desperation of having the air sucked out of his being. He fell on the ground and lost concentration of his creation. The tornado disappeared, allowing Akane to free-fall to the ground, making a crater to mark her landing spot. As soon as Akane' lungs began filling with air, so did Saffron's. She slowly opened her eyes, relishing the feeling of oxygen filling her body again. She knew that Saffron would be confused and affected as well as a direct result of the incantation she had just used on him.

Akane took a few more deep breaths before she rolled to her side and began pushing herself up from the ground. "That…son a bitch. He almost killed me."

She coughed as she stood again, a little wobbly but ready to fight. She called on the Gekkaja, and the tool obediently flew towards her hands. As soon as she held on to the weapon, she pressed the latches on it, effectively splitting the Gekkaja in two. She used her hands to twirls the two parts, and blades came out of both ends of each part, turning the staff into two, double-bladed swords.

By now, Saffron was recovering from his sudden weakness, but lay on all fours. He took deep breaths, his eyes widened in shock and confusion at what had just occurred. Akane had used a spell to transfer her pain to him, so that whatever she felt, he felt. Now that her life was no longer in danger, the spell had begun to wear off. He heard footsteps coming closer to him, so he looked up and saw Akane walking towards him. He extended his arm to reach for Kinjakan, but Akane noticed his intent and stopped him by twirling her swords in front of her, sending waves of blades towards him. One blade missed him by an inch, but the other cut his face and threw the Kinjakan farther away from him.

Saffron smiled at her, wiping the blood of his cut. "It seems I have underestimated you, bitch. Now you will see what the real power of the Lord of the Phoenix tribe can do to a scrawny human like you."

Akane returned the smile. "This scrawny human has you on your knees, _my Lord_."

Saffron growled as he stood up and began shinning. The light he was emanating increased to the point that Akane was not able to see anything and had to close her eyes. When she opened them again, Saffron was inches away from her with the Kinjakan in his hands. He held the tool on both of his hands, extended horizontally. He used it to push Akane to the ground, making her lose the grip on her swords. He made them land on the ground, his weight crushing on her body as he used the Kinjakan to press on her neck and keep her arms pinned between the tool and ground.

"Do you remember the last time I was on you, like this?"

Akane coughed and wiggled under him, remembering what he had meant. He had done something similar to her the night he had tried to take her by force. Thankfully, for her, it had been the exact same night Ranma had arrived back in China, and when his soldiers had advised him of such, he had stopped his assault on her, and had sent her to begin her spying on the man.

Akane wanted to scream, but with her throat being crushed by all the anger of this man, all she could was making choking sounds. "Ranma can't save you this time. You sent him back to Japan."

Akane's eyes became red, her veins popping up on her neck and face. "What are you going to do now, wench?"

Akane closed her eyes, calling on nature to help her. She began feeling her lungs fill with water, and her ears, nose and mouth began leaking water as well. Saffron saw the odd behavior under him, wondering what the woman was up to now. Before his eyes, Akane's body turned transparent until she looked like a giant blob. Her body melted to the ground, turning into water, splashing him on the face, and making him fall on his face when she was no longer there to pin down. The water that remained under him attached to his clothes, and traveled through the fabric until it gathered on his back. Once the puddle of water regrouped on his back, it solidified and reshaped as Akane. She sat on him, holding her weight on one knee, with her arm extended in front other. She called one of the swords of Gekkaja before stabbing him with it through his back.

Saffron cried in pain when he felt the blade pierce his body, and let go of the Kinjakan. Akane side-somersaulted away from him using one hand over his head as a catapult. She then used her free hand to grab the Kinjakan he had released in his pain, and then jumped away from him, holding his tool in her hand. She used the Kinjakan and pointed the tool at her sword that was still on the ground. She commanded the Kinjakan to enchant both swords to disappear, before she snatched the Kinjakan in half and clashed the two parts, making it disappear.

Saffron, who spat blood when the sword disappeared from his back, looked up just in time to see her place a binding spell on the two tools of the sacred bath. With the binding she had just completed, neither of them would be able to use the tools against each other until she completed an unbinding ceremony to release the tools.

"What have you done?"

"I was getting fucking tired of your stick! Why don't you fight me like a man?"

Saffron knew that both of their powers were decreased by the loss of the tools. The tools aided them in enhancing their magical powers and channeling their energy to perform powerful incantations in a faster and more efficient manner. Now that she had bound the tools, all they had left to use was their Phoenix magic and fists to fight each other.

Saffron stood up and took a few steps back from her, looking at her up and down. He had always known that the Captain had been the best soldier of his ranks, but he had never seen her fight so vehemently. He locked his eyes with hers and saw it again: the same fire in her eyes he knew she must have had, if she had not been a doll, when aiding Ranma win the fight. This was why he wanted her. This was why he kept her around. He had never met a woman who would throw herself into battle, so passionately, as she had.

_"Ranma said Saffron couldn't have won a drunken bar fight. I have to do it. I have to beat him with my bare hands."_

"Captain, how do you expect to defeat me now? How can you, a half Phoenix, defeat the greatest Phoenix there ever was?"

"Why don't you shut your mouth and come find out how?"

Saffron jumped towards her and attempted to punch her face. She easily evaded him and twirled around him, aiming a kick to his back. Saffron extended his arm behind him and caught her foot, sending her flying at a great speed towards the castle. Her back hit the walls of the castle, leaving a Kiima-shaped hole on its path. Akane kept flying, crashing a couple more walls before her momentum stopped. She moaned in pain as she forced her body to shake off the ache. She opened her eyes and saw Saffron coming down on her, ready to knee her on her head. She reacted by pulling her legs closer to her chest and then propelling them in the air to kick Saffron off her before he was able to touch her.

He flew backwards but opened his wings wide to create a gust of wind to stop him from going far. Akane got up and flew towards him, both punching and kicking each other, landing a few hits in the act.

After landing a few kicks, Akane began avoiding Saffron's attempts to hit her, and fought only with defensive attacks. Saffron followed her, his anger increasing with every missed punch. She remained as calm as possible, guiding him to where she wanted him to be. Once he reached the center of the aerial spiral she had been leading him into, she stopped, allowed him to get closer to her, lifted her fist in the air and screamed.

"Hiryu Shoten Ha!"

Saffron's eyes widened when he heard the familiar words. He looked down and saw the dragon rising up from the ground, wrapping itself around him, and taking up to the sky before exploding in a massive release of energy. The blast had been so intense that the walls of the palace crumbled, and fell under their own weight. Akane, still floating above the whirlwind of energy, aimed her left arm below her, and held her hand in place by surrounding her wrist with her right hand.

"Shi Shi Hokodan!"

She screamed the name of the technique as she produced one ball of energy after the other, bombarding the already fallen structure until the mountain collapsed. After the dust settled, the once proud Phoenix Mountain was reduced to a pile of rubble and ash.

Akane stared at her work, hoping it had been enough to stop the Lord of the Phoenix tribe. She slowly allowed herself to come back to the ground, kneeling when she finally reached it. She took in quick breaths, and begun to feel the effects of releasing so much energy at once. She wiped the sweat and blood from her face, praying she did not have to fight anymore. The silence around her told her the rain had finally stopped, and the first rays of the sun could be seen slowly coming up. She allowed herself sport a small smile. Ranma would have been so proud of her if he had seen her fight just now.

She waited a few more minutes for any sign of Saffron but when nothing occurred, she stood up and began walking away from the battleground. She took a few steps before she felt her back hit by a wave of water, sending her skidding on the ground until her body hit a boulder that lay on her path. She felt the water filling her mouth and nostrils, so she called on the fire technique to evaporate the wave surrounding her. For some reason, the technique would not come to her as easily as before, but after a few more seconds, she was finally able to invoke it. The water disappeared and she gasped for air. Saffron stood a few feet away from her, panting as much as she was.

"You still want more?" she asked, before her eyes widened.

She stared at her hands and realized her claws were gone. She took one hand to her teeth and her fangs had disappeared as well. She then looked behind her and her wings were no more. And her voice, her voice had changed. It had returned back to her old Akane-self.

"_That water…that was cursed water….my Phoenix form…it's gone…"_

Not allowing her to recover from the shock, Saffron ran towards her and began his assault. He punched, kicked, and clawed her nonstop. Her clothes began to tear, and she could feel dozens of cuts appearing on her skin. Her head was flipped side to side by his punches, and she could feel the pain of cracked ribs on her abdomen. His kicks were more menacing than before, holding nothing back.

"_He's gonna kill me."_

Akane felt the pain of her sprained ankle return, now that her Phoenix form was gone. Her strength and magic had been severely reduced by the loss of her curse. She hit herself mentally for allowing herself to be tricked into losing the only advantage she had. She did not attempt to defend herself or stop Saffron from using all his strength to convert her into his personal punching bag. She felt tears run down her cheeks, forcing herself to think of Ranma to ignore the pain.

"_Ranma, I've let you down. I never even told you how I felt about you."_

Akane's greatest pain came from knowing that once Saffron was done having his way with her, he would waste no time in heading to Nerima and ending his and her family's life. She had let them down; it was all up to Ranma now_. "Be strong, Ranma."_

After Saffron had his fill of revenge, he stopped hitting her, and her body fell, face down, as soon as he removed himself from her. Akane lay on the ground, unmoving as a new wave of pain hit her body. She could feel every cut, every bruise, every broken rib, and every broken bone in her body. She painfully moved her face to the side so that she could cough up blood. There was no way she could defeat him now. The only advantage she had left was that he was too tired to do anything else but direct attacks. Even though his body could not handle direct attacks himself, her body was in no shape to fight back to the level that was required to defeat him.

She stared at nothing in particular as she remained on the ground, tasting her own blood in her mouth. She heard Saffron fall to his knees on the ground, obviously still exhausted after the ordeal she had made him go through. What else could she do? Even if she had the ability to hit him one last time, what good would it do? He would be reborn in a few days, and she would be powerless to stop him with her human body. She would have time for nothing else, but to die. She could not reach Nerima in time. She could not hide and wait to recover to fight him back because he would make it to Japan before she was able to regain the ability to hold up her own chopsticks again.

Had it all been for naught? What had she been thinking, attempting to take on a demigod? She was only a girl from a small town, who had ended up in China against her will. What good had she done? Delay the inevitable, perhaps, but she had not done anyone any favors. Saffron would still kill her. Saffron would still go to Japan. He would still get his way, and all she could do was watch until he decided to end her life.

She closed her eyes, forcing her mind to remember the happiest memory she could think of at the time. If she was going to leave this world, she wanted it to be while her mind wandered away from the pain she was sure to experience once Saffron recovered from his comeback. She could almost see the images, slowly forming in her brain. She could almost feel the cold breeze on her rooftop. She saw the stairs twinkled about them, as they lay above her room, talking about the events that had transpired that day.

_Ranma and Akane lay above her room after he had knocked her window in the middle of the night. At first, she had been reluctant to opening it up at all, but after seeing his pleading face, she could not resist for long. He offered his hand to lift her up to the roof, and she allowed him the pleasure of feeling as if he was being a strong man for her._

_They had been silent for a while, and just stared at the dark sky. She was beginning to get chilly, so she hoped Ranma would soon tell her what he had woken her up for tonight. After a few more minutes, he finally started the conversation he had in his mind._

"_It was a crazy couple of days, eh, Akane? Me engaged to Nabiki?"_

"_Crazy for you or for me?"_

"_For both? Didn't it drive you insane that your sister went through all that just to spite you?"_

"_I guess."_

_They remained silent for a little while longer before Akane spoke again._

"_So, how did it feel being engaged to my sister?"_

"_It felt like I was broke all the time."_

_Akane laughed. That Nabiki sure knew how to make everyone become in debt with her._

"_It couldn't have all been bad? Must have been nice to be engaged to a girl who wasn't uncute, tomboyish and didn't hit you all the time."_

_It was Ranma's time to laugh. "You would think so, but I kinda missed it."_

"_Sure you did."_

_Ranma stood up to stare down at her. "I did! It keeps me in check! It's like sparring sessions, all the time."_

"_Shut up, Ranma! As if I could ever be at your level to keep you in check. I can't even touch you, let alone ever think I can defeat you, at all."_

"_Why would you even want to be at my level? If you don't need me to protect you, what the hell am I good for, then?"_

_Akane gave it some thought, wondering if Ranma saw her as a continuous damsel-in-distress, that he had the obligation to keep safe all the time. "Is that why you have stayed with me? Because your other fiancées are stronger and can fight their own fights?"_

"_No, Akane."_

_Akane scoffed. "Whatever you say. I can read between the lines," she said as she began standing up to return back to her room. Ranma saw this, and quickly pushed her back down. He then lay on top of her, pressing her arms down with his hands, making sure they were on either side of her head. He then used the bottom of his bent legs –particularly his shins, to hold down her thighs._

_Akane wiggled under him but she soon realized she was stuck, so she looked at him as he lowered his face to her._

"_Ranma, what are you doing?"_

"_Why do you always think the worse about me?"_

"_I don't know what you mean."_

"_You always think I'm a perv, or that I'm making fun of you, or that I don't…"_

"_You don't what?"_

_Ranma pursed his lips, knowing that Akane would only misinterpret what he wanted to say to her. "Never mind."_

"_No, Ranma. Tell me! What were you gonna say?"_

_She saw him debate with himself regarding continuing the conversation. She was glad to see he finally gave in._

"_I don't stay with you because you're weaker than the other girls."_

"_See! You DO think I'm weak!"_

"_Will you hear everything I have to say before you twist my words?"_

"_Well, out with it, already!"_

"_I've stayed with you because you're the only one who really gives a damn about how I feel. All the other girls, they see me as a prize or a toy. You see me as another human being, and it makes me feel like you could actually care about me, someday."_

_Akane, at a loss for words at his bluntness, remained quiet, staring at the honesty in his eyes. Ranma stared back at her, as if trying to read her thoughts through her eyes._

"_Ranma, but…"_

"_What?"_

"_I already do."_

"_Then you've got nothing to worry about. Even if you're never as strong as me, it's your concern for me that keeps me by your side."_

"_What if I am, one day, as strong as you? Are you just gonna up and leave and find another weakling to watch out for?"_

_Ranma shook his head. "Then you are what you are. But, I hope, Akane, that I never have to see you in a situation where you have to be as strong as I."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because if you have to fight my fight, then I've failed to care for you as you've cared for me, all this time."_

_After another few moments of silence, Ranma stood up from above her and helped her get back on her feet. She patted her pajamas to remove the dust that accumulated on it before reaching over to grab Ranma's arm._

"_Ranma, if that time ever comes, I promise I won't give up until I can be by your side."_

_Ranma smiled, enjoying the moments where they were able to speak up their minds without the fear of rebuff._

"_And I'll be waiting for you, Akane."_

Akane felt a wave of renewed strength course through her body at seeing the memory end in her mind. She could not give up! She had _promised_ him she would not give up! The time they had spoken of on the roof was here, and now. This was her turn to prove that she could be the one to make everything go back to normal. This was her turn to fight his fight.

"Ranma…is waiting for me…"

Saffron, hearing she still had the energy to speak, growled in anger.

"Why won't you die?"

"Ranma…he's…he's waiting for me to come back…"

"Stupid girl, no one is waiting for you."

Saffron began walking up to her, ready to give her the final blow. He was so sick and tired of this, and he had allowed the battle to last longer than it should have, hoping at the end she would return to being his servant again. Akane slowly and painfully moved her left arm in front of her, but wasn't able to do more than that.

Saffron stood a foot away from her, and stepped on her open hand, pressing her palm to the ground. He charged his hands with energy that would blow her body to pieces before speaking to her one last time.

"Any last words, Captain."

Akane nodded.

"Well?" he pressed.

"Baku…saiten…ketsu."

Saffron stared at the girl, unsure of what she had just done. Before he could realize what had happened, the ground below them began shaking and shinning. The small rocks and pebbles on the ground began jumping up and down as the earth beneath them cracked. The light was shining so bright it blinded Saffron as the ground began erupting, covering them in waves of rocks. The impact made Akane's body fly up on the air, and impact Saffron, making them both fall on the ground as rocks hit them from every side. Akane landed on top of him, sitting on his stomach. She placed her open palms on his neck to hold his head as still as she could.

She then lowered her face to his and locked their lips together, making Saffron lose sight of what she was about to do. With her lips still on his, she called on the last trick she had in her bag. It was a technique she had never used, and had only read about in the books of dark magic of the Phoenix tribe. She knew her human body would probably stop working after she used it, since it was a technique that was strictly created for the Royal Clan.

She closed her eyes and uttered the chant in her mind.

"_Noroi Seishin Bodi Inai Ki Rinku."_

In an instant, Saffron felt himself lose control of his body. His eyes opened wide, only to see Akane still locked on his lips. His body began burning inside and expanding as if he was going to explode. His body went limp and though he could no longer feel any part of his body, the pain remained. He felt as if he himself was being dehydrated by the sacred tool, just as had Akane been two years ago. It was not until Akane opened her mouth on his, and he felt his life being sucked right out of him, that he was able to understand the technique's true goal.

Saffron's spirit transferred to Akane's body, leaving a wide-eyed lifeless carcass that used to be Saffron's body. Once his entire spirit was in her, she raised her head and opened her mouth, releasing his spirit towards the sky in what could only be described as a ray of light coming from Akane's mouth, and eyes. As the spirit traveled through her, she performed a binding spell to prevent Saffron's spirit from ever returning to his body, and to forever remain in limbo. She used the last of her energy to lock the portal to limbo, effectively ending the rebirth of the Lord of the Phoenix tribe.

Saffron's body turned to dust once the light in the sky disappeared, only to be blown away by the wind that remained from the Bakusaintenketsu attack. His existence turned into a memory. His soul was what allowed his body to be reborn from the ashes. Without a soul, Saffron would never be able to return, and therefore his body would not be able to heal itself. Akane felt the last of her Phoenix powers leave her, having just used the ultimate murder technique. The technique that had been used for generations against the anterior members of the royal family of the Phoenix tribe, effectively narrowing it down to just one.

Lord Saffron of the Phoenix tribe.

Lord Saffron, who she had just pulverized.

With a final sigh, her body finally shut down and fell on the ground, only to later be found by her loyal followers of the Phoenix Clan.

* * *

**A/N:** Holy $( #$ #&#&! What do you think Ranma's reaction will be after hearing that? Next chapter, coming soon, and titled: _Accomplished_. Don't forget to review!


	8. Accomplished

**Chapter 7: Accomplished  
**

Akane cleared her throat, almost completely done with her story.

"After that, the Phoenix people cared for me until I healed, as a way of saying thank you for setting them free from Saffron, I guess. They helped me fix my body by helping me find the source of the Drowned Akane spring so I could even out my body. I then gathered the water of the spring I had created when you fell inside it, to bring it back to cure you. Once I was better, we cleaned up the place, and the Phoenix people rejoined the tribes surrounding Jusendo, as normal human beings. I found Ryouga searching for me, and I asked him not to tell you he had found me until I was able to come back with your cure.

"We visited your cabin, and I had him send you the bag of money you had earned, figured you could use it. Then, I made my way back and spent a week at my house, telling your family and mine what had happened. They told they hadn't seen you since you had left for China the second time, but when you walked inside Dr. Tofu's clinic, he took a moment to call me, and tell me you were there. I took the cure and ran there, and the rest…well, you know that."

Ranma stared at Akane as she finally finished telling him what had occurred after he had disappeared from China, but he did not speak. So many questions clouded his mind, and images of the pain she had gone through hit him like a bucket of ice water. The time had presented itself; the time to fight the fight, and she had made it out. She had made it out, to come back to him. She knew he would be waiting for her, and the hope of his wait had given her the last push she needed to end Saffron's life in a way he could have never pull off himself.

Akane felt more uncomfortable by the second, at his lack of reaction. He just stared and stared, not moving a muscle other than to blink. He looked at her up and down, following every curve of her body, picturing every cut, scrape, bruise, and broken bone she had described. The images of her, wielding magic as if it was second nature to her, and combining it with techniques that they had practiced together made him feel…

Proud?

Jealous?

Afraid of her?

He was not certain himself. He could not really place the overriding emotion he felt right now. This woman in front of him, who had just recently lost a battle to a silly fever, had killed a demigod with her hands. This woman, who had a difficult time using a knife and a cutting board to chop vegetables, had used the Gekkaja and the Kinjakan as if she were using a pair of chopsticks within her skilled hands. This woman had flattened out a mountain and deprived a man of his soul. All of that strength and determination had come from the simple thought of coming back home.

"_Coming home, to me."_

After all these thoughts put his mind at ease, he leaned closer to her and grabbed her hands in his. She lifted them to his lips and kissed one hand, and then other. He then pulled her hands to his chest, and stared at her with a small smile.

"I just…have one question."

"What is it?"

"Did you really have to _kiss_ the guy?"  
Akane graced him with her frown, head tilt and repetitive blinking. She then shook head and a light chuckle escaped her mouth. "From everything I just said, _that_ is the only thing you can ask about?"

Ranma shrugged, joining in the laughter. "Well! What did you expect? That's a good way to go, if you ask me. If, for whatever reason, we have to end the other's lives, let's do it that way, with a kiss, uh?"

Akane pushed him away and stood up, not wanting to partake in the silly conversation, but doing so anyway.

"Do you really want _me_ to kiss you before I kill you? Did you not just hear what happened to the _last_ guy I kissed in battle?"

"Worth taking the chance."

"You're crazy…"

"…About you."

Akane stopped walking away from him and turned around. He stood there, hands on his sides, not flinching, not blushing, not backing way, or taking back what he had just said. He just stared. He took small steps towards her as he opened his arms and pressed her against his chest. He rested his arms around her shoulders, neck and head. She stood there as well, a little shocked at first, but then lifted her arms and placed them around his waist.

"Promise me, Akane."

"What?"

"Promise me, whatever happens, you won't allow yourself to go through something like that, again."

"Ranma, I can't promise something like that."

"Yes, you can."

"Are you asking me not to fight, anymore?"

"No. I'm asking you to leave it to me."

"And, what if you aren't there?"

"I _will_ be there."

"_Oh, Ranma. You know that's a promise you most certainly cannot keep," _she thought to herself before promising him something she knew she could also not keep herself.

"I would tell you I'm proud of you, but that goes without saying."

"I would tell you to not make me mad, but that goes without saying, too."

He kissed the top of her head, staring at the clock in front of him. "I better go, 'Kane. We have to get up early tomorrow."

Akane sighed, holding him tighter one last time before he broke apart the hug. "I'll come pick you up."

"Ranma, that's silly," Akane argued, knowing that he would have to come to her house and then walk right by his house again on the way to school. "We should just meet up there."

"Nah! It'll bring back good memories, don't you think?"

Akane nodded, following him to the door. He checked that his cell phone was with him, and opened the front door. She placed a kiss on his cheek as he exited, and closed the door behind him. She turned around and rested her back on the front door, hearing him close the main gate as he left.

Now that he was gone, there was nothing else to occupy her mind, and the results of her initial blood tests came back.

"_I'm sorry, Ranma, but you can't know this just, yet," _she thought as she placed a hand on her belly, feeling another cramp coming to her. She ran to her room and went straight to bed, hoping the medicine would help her make it through the week.

xxxXXXxxx

The Tendo residence was filled with delicious smells of home-made cooking, laughter, music, and a sense of celebration, above all. There was a full house with Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane, Ranma, Soun, Genma, Nodoka, Ono, Ichiro, and Kazue, who had all gathered to celebrate many recent milestones in the family, the end of the year, and the beginning of the next.

The first three days of the week, Akane and Ranma had crammed every night, and had been tested for 12 different subject matters, by sitting for four tests per day. Ranma had felt the best part of the day had been when he had arrived every day to Furinkan High, holding Akane's hand as they walked by next to Satoshi Nakajima. The handful of suitors that either one of them had accrued in the course of their year attending the accelerated school had their hopes swiftly crushed when they realized that the two students were not just dating, but betrothed.

Their study sessions would be so long, that he had spent the night at the Tendo home on Monday and Tuesday. Akane had not been happy about this, as he had seen her struggling with her symptoms, even though he had not said a word about them.

On Thursday, Akane and Ranma opened the dojo to carry on the tryouts, and were happy to see that their original list of potential students remained intact. After a full day of judging battles, the five students that would represent the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts had been chosen. Ranma and Akane congratulated their team, which consisted of three youngsters and two adults. The day after the tryouts, they have met with them to explain how the arrangements and practice would take place. They informed the students of the more finer details of the tournament, and asked them to show up at the Dojo at 7 a.m. on Monday, to begin training. The team was excited to train with their Master, and ecstatic that they would have the chance to compete against other students in the region.

After a long discussion with their students, Akane and Ranma wrapped up the meeting and headed to Furinkan High to learn the decision on their tests. Both of them had been happy to see that they had aced their tests, and they would be receiving their high school diploma via mail, in six to eight weeks. The next step in their road to college would be to pass the entrance exams in May, and continue sending applications anywhere they could.

Kasumi and the twins had recovered from their illness, and Kasumi had found a full-time job at Nerima Hospital. She still assisted doctor Tofu every now and then, but knowing that their children would soon be needing more financial support, they decided to take advantage of their young ages to save up enough funds to allow Kasumi to work part-time when they attended elementary school.

Nabiki had announced that her application for graduation had been accepted, and that if everything went well, by the end of May she would be receiving her two degrees. Offers from major financial institutions had already started pouring in, and she had shown interest in a handful of them, particularly one that required her to move to the United States.

Ranma had received another anonymous letter, congratulating him for passing his tests, and again warning him to keep his eyes opened at the tournament. He was beginning to suspect Nabiki had some involvement with these letters, cunning as she was, but had decided that with the tournament being so close, he would soon find out who had been spying on him all along. He had also organized a secret camping trip that he and Akane would go on after the tournament, where he would finally pop the question. His parents had been thrilled to know that their boy was all grown-up, and ready for such a commitment, while Soun had cried his eyes out, sad to see his only daughter left move on with her life.

While the party was in full motion, Soun and Genma sung slurred songs as they played shogi, cheating the other any time they could. Nodoka, Kasumi and Nabiki talked about the latest gossip and took turns watching over the twins until Nodoka shared her pearls of motherhood wisdom with Kasumi. Nabiki, knowing she had nothing to contribute to that conversation, opted to discuss financial planning ideas with Ono.

Ranma and Akane had, for the most part, spent their time watching TV and escaping behind the dojo to enjoy some quiet time, every now and then. Akane had eventually excused herself, stating the sake was getting to her, as she went up the stairs. She had spent half an hour locked inside, making Ranma come up a couple of times, asking her if everything was alright.

Seeing his girlfriend was probably out for the count, he walked downstairs and joined his dad and surrogate uncle on their game play.

After reaching an hour of being stuck in the bathroom, Akane walked out of it after throwing up her insides for the third time since the party had started. She figured the sake they had all been drinking, except the twins, was not helping with her symptoms. Very little was left inside her stomach to regurgitate, to the point that she was throwing up blood more than anything else.

_"My throat must be irritated by now."_

She determined the party was almost over for her, as she headed to her room to retouch her makeup so that her family would not notice that she was not her healthy, normal ol' self. She sat at her desk, staring at her vanity mirror, realizing how unhealthy she looked. Her eyes had begun developing dark circles under them, mostly thanks to the nights of cramming for her tests. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she blamed that on the strain her eyes had gotten from all the coughing, sneezing, vomiting, and all the computer-staring she had done while revising the dojo's business plan.

She also felt exhausted, more than she had in a while, but she was glad tomorrow she would get a chance to sleep, all day if she so wished to. Next week all they had to do was train the martial arts students they would take with them to the tournament, to which they would depart at the end of this incoming week.

_"Five more days, Akane. Five more days and you can tell Ranma you feel like shit."_

Akane knew that Ranma was going to be pissed off out of his wits. Ranma hated dishonesty, especially when it came to not knowing if something was bothering her. She would deal with the consequences of her actions later, which she knew would include sitting in a chair while Ranma paced back and forth in front of her, waving his arms in the air, and raising his voice as he told her how irresponsible she had been, and that he could not believe she would lie to him like that.

"It's all for the best."

Akane's phone rung to announce she had received a text message. She flipped open the phone and saw Ranma was looking for her.

_"Meet me on the roof."_

Akane smiled. Even though she was not thrilled about having a permanent GPS marker on her for Ranma to find her wherever she went, she was growing fond of his random text messages he would send to her. Last night, for instance, he had sent her a less-than symbol, followed by the number 3. She had wondered if he was trying to ask her help with a math problem, but when she asked what it was, Ranma had told her it was supposed to be a sideways heart.

"You know Akane, for being so smart, you don't have a lot of imagination," he had told her before admitting he had been looking up what was called text-speak and was learning the _codes_.

She closed the phone and opened the window in front of her. She went outside and climbed to the roof. Ranma was sitting in the middle of the roof, watching her walk towards him.

"What are you up to," she asked him.

"It was getting kinda loud down there. Your dad and mine have been drinking too much sake."

"We've been drinking, too."

"Not like them! They're drinking it like it was water in the middle of the desert."

Akane nodded, knowing how loud and annoying their parents could get when intoxicated.

"Speaking of water, how is the nature-technique manipulation going?"

Ranma had asked Akane to allow him time to practice the techniques alone, arguing that her showing-off was distracting to him. She had readily complied, knowing that it was just his hurt ego talking.

"Better! I can call on them as easily as you do, now. I'm working on switching back and forth from them without having to take a break in between."

"I'm glad to know my story inspired you, Grasshopper."

Ranma faked a laugh. "You're_ so_ funny."

"What did you bring me up here for, anyway?"

Ranma's fake anger face disappeared. "Oh, no reason. Thought you might want to spend some quality time with your boyfriend."

"Quality time? Doing what?"

"I've got some ideas in mind."

"Do you?"

"Yeah," he said as he pulled her down on him and began making out on the roof.

Ranma thought about how busy, again, the upcoming week was going to be for the both of them. He was beginning to get nervous about asking Akane to marry him after the tournament. He was not backing down, but the thought about getting down on one knee and asking her to spend the rest of her life with him had made him weak in the knees a few times during the day.

_"But it'd be worth it if I can do this whenever I want,"_ he joked inside, referring to the current session on the roof.

They continued for a few more minutes until Akane pulled herself off him, remaining seated on his stomach. "As much as I'm enjoying this quality time with you, I'm getting tired. Mind if I go to bed?"

Ranma nodded, sad that she had to leave, but he had promised doctor Tofu he would allow her to rest.

"I'll be at home all day tomorrow. Call me if you miss me, K?"

Akane nodded, leaning over and kissing him again, but stopped halfway during the kiss when she felt something stir inside of her. She leaned back and looked around her, wondering where the threat she felt was coming from.

Ranma stared at her in confusion, pushed his body up and looked around himself. "Everything OK, Akane?"

"Yeah. I better go."

Akane lifted herself from him, turned around and headed back to her window. When she neared the edge of the roof, she felt her body paralyze before she lost control over it and began falling down from the roof.

"Akane!" Ranma yelled as he scrambled to his feet and ran to her. He reached the edge of the roof and dove down, catching her halfway down. He surrounded her body with his, turned around on his back, and called on the wind technique to cushion their fall. His body levitated just inches from the ground before he allowed it free-fall on the grass, Akane laying on him.

The party that had been happening around them had suddenly stopped when they saw Akane plummet, and Ranma catching her at the last minute.

"Ranma! Akane! Are you alright?" Kasumi asked, kneeling beside them to check on her sister and future brother-in-law.

Ranma did not respond to Kasumi as he opened his eyes. He carefully twisted his body to his right, laying Akane on the ground next to him. He shook her a little, calling her name and asking if she had been injured in their fall.

Akane opened her eyes, holding on to her head with her hands. "I'm OK. Thanks, Ranma."

Ranma, not looking convinced at all, stood up and helped her stand up as well. The family, seeing Akane was alright, decided to lighten up the mood with some humor.

"Good catch, boy! It seems Akane had just a little bit too much to drink," Genma said.

"I think Uncle Genma is right, Akane. You should go to bed," Kasumi encouraged the girl.

"I think you're right," Akane said as she began walking back inside the house. "Good night, everyone."

Akane left to her room surrounded by the chants of 'good nights,' and 'hope you feel better's.' Ranma waited until Akane had gone into her room before facing Tofu. "I want another test done on her. Tomorrow."

"Ranma, don't you think that's Akane's call to make?"

"No. If you don't give her that test, I'll find some other doctor who will."

The rest of the group felt uncomfortable with the conversation, and decided to end the party for the night.

"Genma, why don't we go back home, uh?" Nodoka urged to her husband.

"Good idea, dear. Let's go," he said as he walked up to his wife and waved at Ranma to join them. When Ranma did not move and still stared at Tofu, Genma turned to Soun and hugged his friend. "It was a great party, Tendo. Great way to end the year, amongst friends and family."

"Quite correct you are, Saotome," Soun said, returning his friend's embrace.

The two men and Nodoka walked to the entryway, saying their goodbyes to each other as they waited for Ranma to join them in their departure. "Hurry up, Ranma! We've bothered the Tendo's too long, already!"

Nabiki waved goodbye to everyone as she made her way up to her room, warning everyone present to not waking her up tomorrow unless the house was on fire. Kasumi remained in the backyard with her husband and Ranma, as the argument between the two men, continued.

"I think you're over exaggerating a little bit of sake in her system, Ranma."

Ranma, by now, had walked to the doctor and stood face-to-face with him. "Am I the only one who is worried something's bad is happening to her?"

Kasumi decided to interject, knowing Ranma's short temper with matters that involved Akane would soon to show its ugly head.

"Ranma, Akane never drinks. She overdid it tonight, that's all."

"Kasumi, you're her sister. Aren't you worried about her? Akane is clumsy, yeah, but she didn't even trip up there. She just, fell."

"Ranma, have you ever been drunk? You've seen your dad drunk, right? Even the best martial artists aren't immune to the effects of alcohol. If Akane is feeling sick tomorrow, which she probably will seeing how much you all drank, I will make her go visit Ono, OK?"

Ranma, feeling better that he had somehow gotten his way, nodded. "Fine. But if the Doc doesn't clear her tomorrow, she won't be coming with me to the tournament."

Kasumi agreed, eyeing her husband to make everything possible to not give Ranma a reason to stop her sister from attending the ART. Everyone knew how hard both he and Akane had been training, and it was unfair for her little sister not to take part in the reason she had been killing herself the last few months. Especially, when she was certain that Ranma was just being his overprotective self, reading more into what was really happening around him.

Feeling he had nothing else to add to the conversation, he nodded to Kasumi and the doctor before joining his family at the entryway. "Let's go, Pops."

Ranma waved goodbye to Soun and followed his dad and mom out the Tendo home. Soon after, Kasumi and Ono also left the house and headed straight to their own home with a pair of sleeping twin babies in hand.

xxxXXXxxx

Akane walked to Tofu's clinic after receiving over fifty text messages from Ranma, asking her when she was planning on visiting the doctor. After turning off the cell phone, she had walked downstairs to answer the home phone. Ranma had been at the end of the other line, and was fuming that she was not answering her cell phone. She had told him to leave her alone and hung up, promptly unplugging the phone line from the wall jack for the rest of the day.

After her fever had returned, she bundled up and decided to visit the doctor anyway. She had to look better tomorrow so that Ranma would not leave her watching from the sidelines during their training and during the tournament. She arrived at the clinic and walked in, knowing the doctor was expecting her. What she did not expect was to see Nodoka sitting inside the office, apparently waiting for her to arrive.

"Hello, Akane. Hangover any better?"

Akane shrugged, uncomfortably taking a seat next to her across from Ono's chair. The last thing she needed today was her boyfriend's mom making more suggestive comments and telling her she needed to remain untouched until her wedding day. Akane sat and stared at the doctor and Nodoka, waiting for the woman to take her leave. When neither of them moved, Akane realized Nodoka was there to stay.

"Akane, I see you aren't feeling any better than last night."

"No. I swear I will never drink, again."

Nodoka laughed at her comment. "That's what Genma says every time he drinks. Next time there's a party, he is the first one opening the bottles of sake for everyone."

Akane shrugged, not certain what kind of comment to make before focusing on Ono.

"What can I take? I feel really miserable."

The doctor opened his drawer and gave Akane a handful of pills. "Take this for the headache you probably have. Stay inside today, and drink a lot of water. The sake will flush out of your system by tomorrow."

The doctor then proceed to hand Akane the same forms she had filled out before when he had first drawn blood from her, and she proceeded to fill them up as Tofu prepared for another round of sampling her blood. "Did Ranma ask you to test me again?"

"Sure did."

Akane sighed, reaching the end of her patience with his attitude. For a minute, she forgot that Nodoka was sitting next to her, and opened her mouth wide enough to place her foot inside of it.

"Does Ranma suspect what I have? Frankly, I'm getting tired of his bullshit."

The moment her words left her mouth, she wished she could take them back. Her weary body was getting the best of her, and her mouth had lost its natural filter she carried with her all the time.

"What _do_ you have, Akane?" Nodoka asked.

When Akane did not respond, Nodoka glared at Tofu, her eyes demanding an answer. When Tofu shrugged and pointed back at Akane, Nodoka's calm demeanor disappeared.

"Akane Tendo! What kind of games are you playing with my son?"

Akane, feeling her anger amplified by her ailed health, decided that enough was enough. It was tiring enough to have Ranma yapping around her about her health all the time, but to have Nodoka do it, too? What gave them the right to puppeteer her life to their liking? She had had enough.

"I don't know, the same ones you play, too?"

Nodoka, not expecting to be on the receiving end of Akane's wrath, gasped as she took her hand to her chest. "Akane, watch your mouth. You may be dating my son, but that doesn't give you the right to talk to me like this!"

"I could say the same to you. What are you doing here, anyway? Did Ranma send you? Or did you just take it upon yourself to find some dirt on me that you can rub all over his face?"

Nodoka stood up, towering over Akane who had no intention on standing up from her chair. The older woman pointed her finger at her, marking every word she said.

"Now, you listen here, little girl. If you're hiding something important from him, then you're not good enough to be his wife. For some reason, my son thinks you can do no wrong, but clearly he doesn't know you very well. If you have lost your interest in him, why don't you just tell him and let him move on?"

"Ladies, this is just a misunderstanding," Tofu said, trying to stop the argument developing in front of him.

"Ono, stay out of it. It's been a while since I've been wanting to talk to her about how she treats my poor boy. I can't let him waste his time with a whore."

Akane stood up, hearing the same argument from her again, as before. "A whore? Is that what your mom called you when you dated uncle Genma?"

"How DARE you? I married Genma a pure woman, which is more than what I can say about you."

Akane held her head; Nodoka's screaming was contributing to her worsening headache. She turned around, grabbed the consent papers, and tore them apart. She threw them in the trash before turning around and facing Tofu.

"I'm sorry you had to see this, and for wasting your time, but I'm not getting any more tests done. It is what it is, and if anyone has a problem with it, they can just go home and cry about it."

She turned around, heading towards the door before stopping at the entrance, asking the doctor one last question before she left.

"This thing…is it going to get worse?"

"I can't tell without further testing. But I don't recommend you attending that competition, at all."

Akane dug her fingers in the wall. She knew Tofu was going to take Nodoka's side. Why did not anyone understand how important this was to her? To them? If the dojo was able to be certified, her father would be able to have something to live off the rest of his life. Why did everyone think that it was just about her and Ranma's engagement duty?

"I appreciate your medical opinion, Ono, but Ranma and I have worked really hard to get this certification. He needs me and I will not let him down."

"Very well."

Nodoka walked to stand in between the doctor and Akane, waving her hands in the air. "Very well? That's it? You must be kidding!" she said, urging Tofu to support her, and shed some light on Akane's hidden illness.

"I guess Ranma takes his paranoia from you, uh?" Akane mumbled.

Nodoka had had enough, as well. She walked up to Akane and pulled her to face her by grabbing her arm. "You know Ranma would always choose you over anything. He would understand if you can't participate," she began.

"You're everything to my son; think about that the next time you want to do something reckless," Nodoka finished her silent threat before walking out of the clinic, feeling she had accomplished her mission of showing Akane how wrong she was. Akane waited until after Nodoka had slammed the door before heading out herself, not bothering to say goodbye to the doctor.

Once she arrived home, she found it to be empty, once again. She walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle to take the pills the doctor had given her. She walked to the living room and lay on the couch. She closed her eyes and relaxed, relishing the peace and quiet surrounding her.

"Konnichiwa!"

"_Spoke too soon."_

Kasumi walked inside the home, locking the door behind her. She saw Akane lying on the couch, and greeted her again. "Anyone home?"

"No. Just me."

"Oh, even better."

_"Great,"_ thought Akane. _"First Ranma, then Tofu and Nodoka, and now Kasumi is gonna yell at me."_

"Ono said you weren't feeling well. I brought some tea to help with the hangover. Want to give it a try?"

Akane nodded, prompting Kasumi to go to the kitchen and prepare the tea. When she returned, she had two cups in her hands. She gave one to Akane and she kept one herself. When Akane finally got up from her position, she saw that Kasumi was holding a folder in her hands.

Akane rolled her eyes as Kasumi took another sip of the tea, and dropped the folder on the table between them. "Do you want to explain to me what the meaning of this is?"

Akane did not have to open the folder to know it was her medical record. Kasumi had found out while filing away the doctor's work.

"It's a folder that is meant to be confidential between the doctor and the patient."

Kasumi, not at all fazed by the implication of her response, continued to talk.

"How long do you plan on hiding this from Ranma?"

Akane growled. Why was everyone asking the same question? She and Ranma were not married yet; she had no obligation to share everything with him. Akane felt like a portal to the past had been opened, and she was back to being a teenager, having silly arguments with her family about her choices and it affected their pact.

"As long as I can," Akane finally answered.

"You know he's going to find out, eventually. One way or the other."

Akane stared at her sister, wondering if she would dare to tell Ranma the truth. When Kasumi did not show any signs of an ulterior motive, she spoke again. "I will tell him after the tournament, I promise"

Kasumi shook her head. Did her sister really think Ranma would feel better about the whole thing if he found out about it after everything was said and done? Ranma being Ranma, she was surprised it had taken him this long to think Akane had been hiding something from him all along.

"He may notice before that, you know. He will be upset for not telling him."

"I've been able to hide it this long. I can hide it a little longer."

Akane left the unfinished tea on the table, exiting the room without another word. She had enough conversations with people today, and while she hated being rude to Kasumi, she did not want to go off on her as she had on Nodoka. She locked herself in her room for the rest of the day, and Ranma did not attempt to sneak into her room that night.

xxxXXXxxx

The train station of Nerima had been the meeting point for the students and owners of the Tendo dojo. That morning, Ranma and Akane had taken turns polishing up the students' forms and katas, knowing it was their last chance to do so before the tournament. After their last day of training ended, the students received their train tickets, and were told to meet their sensei at 5:30 in the afternoon at the entrance of the station. Akane had feared that any of the students would succumb to anxiety and not show up, but was glad to see all of them had arrived on time.

Ranma handed them their confirmation of the hotel room they would be staying in, which was the same hotel where the tournament would take place. Akane had stocked up on medicinal herbs and first aid kits, as she had promised the parents of the younger students she would watch over their youngsters while they were away. The rest of the Tendo family, supporters of the dojo, and relatives of the students attending, would meet them tomorrow at the inauguration ceremony, and planned to remain there throughout the course of the event.

After all the students had arrived, Ranma and Akane led them to their stop, and half an hour later, they boarded the train that would take them to Shinjuku. The students sat together, near the back of the train car they were in. Ranma and Akane chose to sit close enough to them to keep an eye on the, but not so close that they could not have a private conversation between them.

The ride would be a couple of hours long, as it had many stops, but they did not concern themselves about since the last stop was at their final destination. Akane closed her yes, feeling the stress of the week dawn on her. Ranma stared out the window, watching the quickly changing view. He had been distant with Akane for the past week, mostly due to the conversation he and his mother had had last Sunday.

"_Ranma! Why are you so blind? That woman is clearly seeing someone else behind your back!"_

"_Mom, don't be ridiculous. We spent most of the days together. When the hell would she find the time to cheat on me? Not that she would, anyway."_

"_Ranma, listen to your mother. She has been hiding something from you. I don't know what it is, but she has been acting all mysterious around all of us. Haven't you noticed?"_

"_Do you mean afraid that her every action and word is going to be blown out of proportion, by you? I thought I told you to leave her alone."_

"_Oh! My boy! What has she done to you? It obvious she has just been using you to get her dojo certified. She needs your help to get it done. Once that place is certified, she's going to dump you on the spot."_

_Ranma shook his head, wondering where his mother was coming up with these stories. After he had learned how Akane had defeated Saffron, he knew that she did __**not**__ need his help with fighting her own battles. If they were working together on this it was because they both wanted to. _

"_Mom, when did you start hating Akane? I thought you liked her?"_

"_I did, but when she came back from China, saying she was going to fix all of our problems and being over-confident…it was odd. I preferred her when she was just a normal girl, waiting to follow her fiancées' every command, like a good wife-in-training should be."_

_Ranma rolled his eyes, finally understanding why his mom was so upset. She probably thought Akane's newfound independence and confidence would somehow overshadow her son's manliness, or something close to that effect, in that crazy mind of hers. He would need to have a talk with his parents before he proposed to Akane, even though he had already told them about it. He did not want Akane's big day ruined by the bunch of maniacs he lived with.  
_

"_Times have changed, mom. Girls don't sit around and do house work anymore."_

"_I should've engaged you to Kasumi."_

_Ranma scoffed. "As if."_

"_Look, Ranma. I know you don't see it my way now…"_

"_Or ever," he added._

"_But, this engagement is no longer meaningful to her. I can tell she's been fooling around with someone other than you. You may not believe it, but in nine months you will see with your own eyes."_

"_What did you say?"  
_

_Nodoka covered her face, feeling she had said more than she should have. Ranma walked up to her and pulled her hands from her face. "Mom, do you know something I don't, or are just making up shit as you go?"_

"_Why don't you ask her, Ranma? I'm not the one to tell you the truth."_

_Ranma's jaw clenched, letting go of his mom's hands. He got up and left the house, knowing he was no longer interested in hearing his mother's foolish ideas._

As much as he had tried to ignore his mother's words, the seed of doubt had been planted, anyway. He had not stayed with Akane after the students had left every day, and neither of them had tried to sneak into each other's rooms. Last weekend they were on the roof, making out. Today, five days later, they were sitting next to each other, but were as apart from each other as they had been when she was in China battling Saffron, and he was in Japan cursing his luck.

How could the trust built over of years of being together dissipate over night? He had not touched her, let alone kissed her since last weekend, and she had not questioned why. He looked away from the window and to her face. She had her eyes closed, and her earphones on. He did not know if she was sleep, but he was not going to bother finding out. He looked down at her belly and asked himself the same question he had asked every time he saw her for the last week.

"Is she pregnant?"

He knew, for a fact, that he was not the father if she was. He recalled the only occasion they had gotten close to sleeping together, and how the chance had slipped through the cracks. It had been the first night she had snuck into his room. He had a nightmare about when she died in Jusenkyo. When he woke up, he had been so scared and confused that when he saw her, his only thought was to show her what he had not been able to tell her at the bottom of Jusendo that night.

_Akane pushed him down onto the bed, cradling on him as she did. He let out of soft moan, which she cut short when her lips locked on his. She was returning the favor to him by taking her time exploring his exposed torso and neck, and using her hands to pull the string of his pants, allowing her to lower them just enough to graze on his manhood without making him go over the edge._

_Ranma's senses heightened at his, pulling her closer to him and stopping her one last time before there was no turning back. "Are you sure you want to do this?"_

_She stared at him, breathing as hard as he was, her cheeks flushed, and sweat beginning to form on her skin. She nodded to him, allowing him to let go of any amount of self-restraint he had left in him. He laid her down on her back before he removed any trace of clothes from him. He lay on top of her and continued exploring her body with his lips and hands. Akane arched her neck as she felt the waves of anticipation course through her body. He began his way down her body, finally reaching the last vestige of clothes she had on. Staring at her face, he slowly slid down her pants and undergarments before staring at her nude body, without shame, for the first time._

_She observed him stare at her body as if it was the first time he had seen it. She waited as he rolled his hands on her legs and hips, kissing his way up to her stomach. When he did not make any move to continue his ministrations, she took the initiative and flipped them around, sitting on him but not allowing him to enter just yet. She began rubbing herself against him, randomly bending down and kissing him. _

_Ranma closed his eyes. His hands found her behind and he dug his nails in her flesh. When he could not take it anymore, he lifted himself and her, and pinned her against the wall. He placed her legs around him, allowing the space he needed to finish their dance. He searched for the entrance and readied himself to begin sliding in. Akane closed her eyes, only to feel someone had just sucked the air out of her, causing her to gasp and push Ranma off her._

_Ranma, who had not been expecting that response, fell on the floor of his room, only to quickly recover and join her on the bed. Akane's eyes were closed and no amount of shaking woke her up. He thought she had backed down at the last minute, and was too ashamed to let him know._

_Ranma sighed, letting his frustration go. He covered them both with their blanket, and hugged her as they went to bed. The next day, he woke up to find Akane gone. He had tried to talk about it with her, but she avoided the subject, and he eventually let it go._

Ranma looked back at the window again. She could not possibly be pregnant! She had not allowed him to take her that night, and they had never tried again. Surely, she would not be able to go through with it with someone else, correct? And, if she had, who would she seeing on the side?

"_Satoshi?"_ Ranma thought with a frown.

"_Of course! That son of a bitch likes her! He probably talked shit about me to her every day they saw each other at school. But, Akane wouldn't just do that to me. Would she?"_

Ranma rubbed his forehead with his hands. Days ago, he would have been thrilled about this tournament, and what its ending signified to him. Now, he was not very sure that camping trip was ever going to see the day of light.

Ranma closed his eyes, waiting for the end of this trip and event so that he and Akane could have a long talk.

* * *

**A/N:** As you can see, I'm trying to get this story done ASAP. Why? Because I'm going back to work soon, and I won't have much time for writing anymore. Let me know if you want the story to continue. What do you think the silent threat is? Thanks for reading!


	9. Adaptable

**Chapter 8: Adaptable**

_Welcome, Martial __**ART**__ists!_

Ranma read the sign at the entrance of the hotel. The entire place was filled with excited students, trainers, dojo Masters, supporting friends and family, and, to his dismay, the news. The tournament had been so well advertised that dozens of news reporters stood outside the entrance of the hotel, discussing the purpose of the tournament, its importance in the history of the country, and interviewing anyone who would allow it. Ranma had not expected the media coverage this event was gathering. He thought he would just sit and watch as his students kicked everyone's ass before he kicked the other Master's ass, and then they would get their own _asses_ out of there in no time.

_"What did I get myself into?"_

He led the group to the reception desk and waited in line for a few minutes until it was his turn to check them in. He took out his confirmation sheet and handed it to the clerk.

"Ranma Saotome, party of seven."

He waited a few seconds while the clerk typed something in her computer. She then asked him for his identification and credit card, which he readily supplied. She excused herself and left to make copies of the items before retuning and handing them back to him.

"Thank you, Mr. Saotome. I have a reservation for you for three rooms, is that correct?"

Ranma nodded, suddenly remembering he had booked one room for Akane and him. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that they were acting weird with each other, he hit himself mentally for not getting each one their own separate room. Akane had not missed his quick look of regret, and she knew very well what he was repenting. She had noticed his sudden withdrawal from her, and knew it was due to Nodoka's conversation with her at Tofu's clinic. However, she also knew that this was not the time to worry about a paranoid woman who surely had to smoke crack to come up with her stories. They would have plenty of time to talk about their problems once the tournament ended.

The clerk finished the check-in process, and handed Ranma six card keys.

"Each room comes with two card keys. The children in your party must be accompanied by one adult in the room. Your credit card will be used as deposit for incidentals, and room service, if requested. You will find your rooms on the 10th floor. Do you have any questions?"

Ranma shook his head, thanking her. He then turned around and handed the two adults in his team the key cards. All the members of his team were male, with the exception of Akane, so there was not going to be any trouble assigning the rooms. One of the adult students took in two students, and the other adult took in the remaining student. He handed Akane one of the card keys and they all made their way to the tenth floor.

Ranma scanned the entryway as they reached the elevator, and his attention was caught by what he thought was a familiar face in the crowd. A brown haired girl carrying a backpack stared back at him, and disappeared when he blinked.

_"Was that Ukyo? What is she doing here?"_

The elevator arrived to the ground floor, and the entire team got in it, not stopping until they reached their floor. They stepped out of the elevator and realized their rooms were at opposite ends of the hall. Ranma turned around to face their students. "Stay out of trouble. We'll meet downstairs in thirty minutes to have dinner, OK?"

The students nodded at their Master before they took a left down the hall, and Akane and Ranma made a right. Once Akane and Ranma reached their room, he used the card key to open it, Akane following closely behind. He placed their bags on the bed, opened his, and began taking out the toiletries he would need for the night. Akane grabbed her bag and took out her own toiletries and pajamas.

Ranma noticed this and stopped the search in his bag.

"You're not coming down with me to dinner?"

"No. Not hungry."

"Are you sure? I can bring something back for you?"

"I'm sure. Thanks."

Ranma shrugged as he closed his bag and threw it inside the closet, with a little bit too much force than needed. Akane knew he was upset at their little exchange just now, but she was not going to mention it. Ranma placed his toiletries inside the bathroom as he explored around it a little, blowing off some steam at the conversation he had just had with Akane.

_"That's the most we've spoken all fucking week." _

Once he felt that he was not going to scream at her, he walked out of the bathroom and found her already changed into her pajamas, and under the covers. The room had only one bed, and she had chosen the side near the back of the room. Her back was against the entrance door, to which he headed now. He stopped to pick up his card key before turning around and watching her from afar.

_ "Akane, why won't you tell me what's wrong?"_

He lowered his head as he exited the room, allowing the door to slam shut. He walked down the hall and took the elevator to the ground floor where the restaurant of the hotel resided. He saw that his students were yet to arrive, so he found a big enough table for all of them, close to the door so they could see him when they walked in. He asked for a soda pop and sipped on it slowly as he waited for the rest of the members of the dojo. After a few minutes of waiting, his waiter approached him with a note in his hands.

"Mr. Saotome?"

"Yes?"

"I've been entrusted to give you this," the man said as he handed him the folded piece of paper. Ranma took it from him as the waiter quickly left. Ranma held the paper in his hands and looked around, hoping to find anyone familiar enough to him that could have sent him the note. He knew his parents and Akane's family would not be here until tomorrow, and he saw no need for them to sneak around him. He finally decided he was not going to go anywhere by guessing, and opened the note to read it.

_Ranma,_

_I'm glad to see you made it here. We've got lots to talk about. Please meet me at the terrace of the hotel, tonight at 10 o'clock._

Ranma crumbled the note and shoved it inside his pocket when he noticed his students had arrived.

"Ranma-sensei!"

Ranma pushed aside his troubling thoughts for now and decided on giving his students a good pep talk to fire them up for tomorrow. They all sat at the table with him, and quickly picked up the menu to decide what they would eat for dinner. His team consisted of five men of the school, chosen because of their abilities, self-control, and discipline. He watched them discuss the menu options and thought about the personalities he had brought to compete at ART.

The youngest one of the team was Daisuke Ito. He was just 11 years old, but he had a lot of potential, Ranma knew. The kid was all eyes and ears in martial arts, but was still a long way to mature. Every time Akane was around, he could see Daisuke blush tremendously. He remembered being that age, and he knew that he would eventually get over his crush on her.

His next student was Hisoka Endo. He was 14 years old, and was very quiet and reserved. If Ranma had met the kid in the streets, he would have never thought that he was a thriving martial artist. He would rarely speak, unless spoken to, and when he did speak, his thoughts left Ranma scratching his head. As opposed to Daisuke, Hisoka was too mature for his young age.

The third student was Mamoru Hamada. He was 16 years old, and was the loudest one of all. He currently attended Furinkan High, and had heard about Ranma and Akane and how good martial artists they were. He had been saddened to find out that they had both stopped going to school at his age, but had been equally thrilled to find out they were back and had their own school. He always told them how much he admired them, and did anything and everything Akane and Ranma told him to do. His parents loved taking him to the dojo because they claimed Ranma and Akane were the only people Mamoru would listen to.

The fourth student was Shinji Oshiro, and he was 18 years old. While still attending high school, he was already considered of adult age. He had begun practicing when he was Daisuke's age, but his parents had always berated him for _wasting_ his time with martial arts. Coming to this tournament had been the opportunity he had been waiting for to show his parents that his love for the arts was not a waste of time, especially if he was able to use his performance in this competition as a way to earn him a scholarship for college.

Finally, the oldest student was Satoru Murakami. He was 25 years old. A graduate from college, his dad ran a small business in downtown Nerima. He hoped to one day own his own dojo, and had joined the Tendo dojo because of its proximity to his home. Once he had seen Akane and Ranma's experience and teaching style, he had stayed because he liked the atmosphere at the dojo. Competing professionally was not his intention until he saw the possibility of learning the backend of running a dojo. Ranma and Akane had been thrilled to show him how the dojo was structured and what it implied to own one, so he could have his own in the future. Most dojo owners would not dare to share their secrets, but Akane and Ranma had been so open about it, it had made him stay and try his best for this competition.

After the students placed their orders, Daisuke looked around the table before speaking to Ranma.

"Where is Akane-sensei?"

Ranma knew why he was asking, and saw the small blush forming on the little boy's face.

"She's resting. You know how women need their beauty sleep."

Daisuke pouted. "Akane-sensei is already pretty. She doesn't need a beauty sleep."

Ranma chuckled and Daisuke's blush became more prominent. Ranma decided to give the kid a break and started a different conversation.

"Are you guys ready for tomorrow? I can't wait to show these wannabes who they are up against."

"I am!" said Mamoru. "My mom told me that if we win, she will let me go to the class trip at the end of this year."

"That's a nice reward," Ranma said.

"Ranma-sensei, will we get to see you fight?" Hisoka asked in a coy manner.

"That depends. If you guys win enough fights, which you _will_, I get to challenge the Master of the NRD."

Hisoka smiled, hoping to get a chance to see that fight, first-hand. Even though he did not speak much, Ranma knew the boy admired him very much. All of them had seen him fight when he trained with them, and they had seen Ranma and Akane spar sometimes, but Hisoka knew they both had more power than they allowed others to see.

"I wonder how many other schools are here," Shinji asked as he stuck his neck out to see the hall. More schools continued to arrive, even this late at night.

Satoru elbowed Ranma, getting his attention instantly. He leaned closer to his student, wondering what he wanted, and Satoru whispered to Ranma.

"Is Akane-sensei really sleeping, or is she worrying about the business plan?"

Satoru had helped them with the business plan since he was familiar with them, seeing as he had helped his dad with his. He had graduated from college with a degree in business, so he had the background needed to help them proofread the one they had. Ranma had not considered the possibility that Akane's real reason not to have dinner with them was that she was making final adjustments to the plan, but he doubted she would make any changes until requested by NRD tomorrow.

"Nah! She was in her pj's when I left. She's probably catching some zzz's by now."

"Well, tomorrow if she needs help, let her know she can pull me aside."

"Thanks, man. I will."

After their order, their food did not take long to arrive. They spent about an hour eating, joking, and discussing the events of tomorrow. Ranma eventually excused himself, letting them know that he had to wake up earlier than any of them had to so he could attend the Masters meeting tomorrow. They all said goodbye to him as he made his way out of the restaurant. He looked at the clock in the entrance and saw he had five minutes to get to the terrace. He got in the service elevator and patiently waited as it took him all the way up. Once he reached the terrace, he walked outside the elevator and walked closer to the edge. The hotel was the tallest one in Shinjuku, and while Ranma was not afraid of heights, the fall would surely leave nothing of the poor soul who tripped down from it.

He felt an object being thrown at him, making him turn around and stopping it between his fingers before it hit him. He saw a figure standing above the small building that held the elevator cart. He looked at the object he had stopped and was shocked to see it was a spatula.

A small, silver, spatula.

Ranma looked up at the figure as it jumped and landed about five feet from him.

"Ukyo?"

"Hi, honey. Long time no see."

She walked closer to him so that she was standing a couple of feet away from him, now. He handed her back her spatula and she took it, leaving it in her hands to play with.

"What are you doing here?"

"My restaurant is catering during the event tomorrow. What are you doing here?"

"My school is winning tomorrow."

Ukyo laughed. "Always so confident, uh? You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me!"

Ranma took out the crumbled note from his pocket and threw it at her. She caught it with one hand and unfolded it to read the note.

"You're the one sending me these detective notes?"

"Sure am," she began. "After I found out Akane had come back from the dead, I had to get in contact with you. Nabiki is an expensive reporter, but she kept me up-to-date with what you have been doing. I'm happy that everything is working out for you two".

Ranma narrowed his eyes, not believing a word she said. "I see. So, why the mystery? Are you here to get your revenge?"

Ukyo shook her head, her face turning serious. "No. I'm here to apologize. I left when you most needed me, and I'm sorry for that. I hope you can forgive me."

Ranma shrugged. "I was never actually angry at you, just disappointed. I'm glad to see you are doing OK."

Ukyo smiled. "I hope we can still be friends."

Ranma nodded. "Of course! You'll always be my friend, Uc-Chan."

Ukyo smiled at the use of their childhood nickname. She threw herself at him and gave him a hug. Once she broke the hug, Ranma had a questioning look on his face. "What's wrong, Ranma?"

"You tell me. In one of your notes, you said that I should watch out for some guy. What's that about?"

Ukyo snapped her fingers, realizing she had forgotten the other reason she had asked him to meet here. "You're right! I wanted to warn you about the Master of the dojo that will represent the NRD."

"What about him?"

"He…well…the NRD doesn't expect anyone to win this tournament. They have strictly ordered the NRD Dojo Master rep to crush whoever wins the tournament. Knowing you, I know you will win, but I thought you should know they won't make it easy on you."

"I never expected them to. How do _you_ know, anyway?"

"People talk when they eat."

Ranma nodded, not certain if she should believe her story as it was not very strong to begin with. "Well, it was nice to see you again, Ukyo. I need to go rest now."

"It was nice seeing you, too."

She gave Ranma one last hug before disappearing into the shadows and Ranma headed down to his room. When he arrived, he caught Akane cleaning up the traces of blood she had just coughed up.

xxxXXXxxx

The School of Anything Goes martial arts sat together on a bench, waiting for their turn to fight. Ranma had just finished going over with them the new developments of the tournament he had been told during the Masters meeting. Akane was not sitting with them, as she was waiting in line so that their business plan would be given the initial review by the NRD. Ranma recapped the surprising news the leaders of the NRD had given them this morning.

Apparently, the goal of the tournament was not to only provide the opportunity for a gym to be certified free-of-charge, but also as a means to reduce the influx of dojos in the region. The Masters had been informed this morning that any dojo that did not make it to the final fight, would be penalized for an entire year and would not be able to obtain certification by regular means during this time. If after a year, the dojo did not apply and obtain certification within six months of the end of their waiting period, the dojo would be forced to close.

Akane had been shaken by the news, but a comforting hand from Ranma had given her some peace of mind. _"Don't worry, Akane. We're gonna win this thing."_

The rest of the meeting had gone on to explain that the tournament was divided in five categories, based on age. Since Ranma and Akane had done their research beforehand, they had one student to fight in each category, so in that regard, they were set. The school that won the most categories would be the one to have the chance to have its Master fight the Master of the certified Dojo from the NRD. If the challenging school's Master beat the NRD's Master, the school would win the certification.

_"We have this in the bag, Akane,"_ he had told her before she had to take the business plan and his laptop, and begin the long process of getting their plan approved by the end of the fights. The first rounds would take place today during the morning, allowing naming the challenger school before lunch. After lunch, the fight would move to another location to hold the Master fight. The reasoning for this was that students were only able to use regular attacks. The Master fight, however, allowed the competitors to use special attacks and ki attacks. Due to this type of battle, the second part of the tournament would be moved to the Shinjuku stadium, which happened to be closer to Nerima. There would be a three-hour break between both sections of the tournament, to allow competitors to eat, regroup, and make their way to the stadium. Since the stadium was bigger than the conference hall of the hotel, the NRD anticipated more public to attend. The media exposure the NRD was obtaining holding this event was unprecedented for them.

Ranma stared at the big screen in the middle of the conference hall. Daisuke's division was to start the competitions, and it would continue in increasing age order until the end. As he waited for Daisuke's name to be called, he recalled the conversation he and Akane had last night. He had been shocked to see Akane's blood on the floor of the bathroom, and even more shocked when he saw her wiping even more from her mouth. He had helped her clean the mess, and waited while she had rinsed her mouth. By the time she was done, he had already striped down to his boxers and sat down on top of the covers, waiting for Akane to return to bed.

She crawled onto her side of the bed and got under the covers, not saying a word to him. His mouth hung and he crossed his arms, unable to believe she had just acted as if nothing had happened.

_"That's it? You're just gonna go back to sleep like that? What the fuck just happened?"_

_ "It's nothing, Ranma. Just go to bed. We have to be up in less than six hours."_

_ "Go to bed? Are you serious? We're having this conversation, Akane, whether you like it or not."_

_ Akane did not say a thing and just readjusted her pillow. Ranma, seeing this, fumed as he crawled to her side of the bed and pulled the covers off her. _

_ "What the hell are you doing?" she reacted._

_ "Making you talk."_

_ "About what? Side effects to the pills I'm taking?"_

_ "Side effects? Do you think I'm stupid, Akane? Those were NOT side effects!"_

_ Akane growled. "Just, go to bed, OK?"_

_ "No! And unless you turn around and talk to me, I won't sleep and neither will you."_

_ Akane continued to ignore him, so he grabbed her arms and did what he did best to make her talk: pinned her down on the bed._

_ "Akane, what's happening to you?"_

_ "Ranma, you're hurting me," she said, realizing how much force he was putting on holding her down._

_ "Hurting you? What about me? Akane, talk to me! I can't help you if you won't let me."_

_ "I didn't say I needed any help!" she said, moving her face away from his._

_ "Akane, you stubborn, uncute idiot! Are you thinking of dumping me? Is that what it is?" Ranma asked, unable to stop the words from coming out thanks to the influence of his mother's conversation with him. Akane's head snapped back to face his. She looked at him as if he had just asked her if she had forgotten to wax her legs. However, Ranma confused it with a look of being caught in the act. He got up from her and off the bed. He begun searching for his clothes on the floor and started sloppily putting them back on. "Ranma, where are you going?"_

_ "To another room. I can't look at you, right now. My mom was right. You are screwing that jerk Satoshi."_

_ Akane stood up from bed and ran to him, pulling the shirt he was still holding in his hands and throwing it behind her. "You think…you think I'm cheating on you?"_

_ "Well, duh! Why else would you be throwing up, dizzy and shit? You're pregnant, aren't you? You gave it to that son of a bitch, didn't you? Was he good? Did you like it?"_

_ Ranma's face almost turned all the way around his head with the slap she had just given him. He turned around and saw the tears in her eyes, and how heavy she was breathing. "Ranma Saotome! How dare you think that about me?! How can you think I would…and with Satoshi…when…you're the only one I've ever…"_

_ She could not finish her sentence as she turned around and headed to the door. Ranma ignored his stinging cheek and ran after her, stopping her before she opened the door. "Akane, I'm sorry! I…please…stay. Let's talk about this, OK?"_

_ "Your mind's clearly already made up. There's nothing to talk about."_

_ "No, wait. There is…I need to tell you that…I…just…don't end this, please."_

_ Akane turned around and faced him. He was standing there, wearing only his pants, shivering and with a red palm tattooed to his face. She walked around him and sat on the bed. He followed her and did the same, next to her. "I'm sorry, Akane. I didn't mean what I said. I'm just, confused, and scared."_

_ "I'm sorry, too. I should have been honest with you. I should've told you the truth."_

_ Ranma felt his heart beat faster. The truth? Was there a truth to say?_

_ "What truth?" he asked, acting as calm as he could even though his mind was racing._

_ "I'm…I'm sick…a little."_

_ "How little?"_

_ "Little enough to not know what it is…but enough to make me look really sick, sometimes."_

_ "So, you __**are**__ sick, but you're not pregnant."_

_ Akane slapped his arm. "No, idiot! Why would I be, unless you raped me in my sleep?"_

_ Ranma chuckled. "How come you hadn't told me?"_

_ "I didn't want you to freak out. The tests Dr. Tofu ran came back inconclusive, but with some areas of concern."_

_ "Like what?"_

_ "Low blood count, a random infection they don't know where it came from, and slight liver deficiency."_

_ "That doesn't sound little."_

_ "It is for now. Doctor Tofu thought I was pregnant, too. But when the tests came back negative, his mind shifted gears and has been researching what could be wrong with me. Last time I saw him, though, your mom was there. She wasn't very happy that we wouldn't tell her what was wrong with me, so she thought I was…"_

_ "Pregnant…from another guy."_

_ "Yes."_

_ Ranma clenched his fist. Nodoka was going to have a piece of his mind when they went home. He had warned her, and she obviously did not listen. He could understand how his mom had thought that, with Akane showing all the signs of pregnancy, but she had not given Akane the chance to explain herself. _

"Just like I almost didn't,"_ he thought, bitterly._

_ Ranma grabbed her hand in his and played with her fingers. "Akane, look. We obviously both dropped the ball here, so that evens it out. But, I want you to do anything possible to give Ono everything he needs to help you. And I want to be there with you. I just don't understand why you didn't tell me."_

_ "I didn't want to worry you over nothing. He doesn't even know if I'm sick or just majorly stressed. I saw no need to bring you down with me."_

_ "Akane, why don't you understand? I __**want**__ you to bring me down with you. I'm here for you, don't forget that."_

_ "I know, but…"_

_ "Nothing. I know it's been hard, for both of us…but we still have each other. Isn't that what matters?"_

_ Akane nodded. _

_ "Are we alright, then?" Ranma asked. _

_ "We're better than that."_

_ Ranma led Akane to the bed and allowed her to get comfortable. He picked up the mess their fight had left behind and took off his pants. He turned off the bathroom light and crawled in bed with her. He held her from behind and lulled her to sleep with soft kisses and promises of a better life._

"Ranma-sensei! Ranma-sensei!"

"What?" Ranma asked, suddenly remembering where he was.

"It's my turn to fight!" Daisuke said.

"Right," Ranma said as he stood up with him and led him to the ring. This was it, the beginning of the battle for certification and recognition was about to begin.

xxxXXXxxx

Akane Tendo typed furiously on Ranma's laptop, correcting the markdowns she had received on the first draft of their business plan. The deadline to submit the business plan was almost here, and she still had ten pages to clean up. She had not even had a chance to see how their team was doing, which made her sad. Even though she had signed up as a trainer, she had not had the chance to sit in the stands and cheer for her students. Other dojos had hired a professional to handle their plans, allowing their trainers to spend time caring and cheering for their students.

Akane knew their school could not afford a professional, and that the efforts of her students would be in vain if she could not submit the plan on time. She flipped the sheet over to the next page to continue transferring the notes on the printed draft to the soft copy on the laptop, but the fan set to keep the place cooler, blew the papers away.

"No!"

She ran towards the papers, but they had already scattered around. Bystanders helped her gather the papers, but when she counted them, she was missing one. She looked around, searching for the missing piece of paper, but did not see it right away. She began walking around the area, searching under the tables and in between the chairs. She went as far as crawling around; looking for that last piece of paper she needed to get back to work.

_"This can't be happening!"_

She finally stood up, upset at her mistake. She gave up hope on ever finding that piece of paper when she saw Satoru walking towards her, with a piece of paper in his hands. "Akane-sensei, you seem busy. You dropped this."

Akane sighed in relief, taking the paper from him.

"Satoru-kun, thank you very much! You just saved my life."

Satoru smiled at her. "How is the plan going?"

"Almost done," she said as she walked back to her desk, and continued to type. "Have you fought yet? How is the team doing?"

Satoru sat next to her on the bench, and held the papers in place to avoid another incident. "I just finished. Ranma-sensei sent me here to check up on you while he talks to the judges."

Akane's head snapped up and she stopped typing. "Judges? Kami! What did he do?"

"Nothing, it's nothing. He's negotiating the terms of our continuation in the tournament."

"Satoru-kun, you're scaring me. What happened?"

"Well, I was going to wait for Ranma-sensei to tell you, but I guess I should."

"Tell me what?"

"We might go to the finals!"

"What? Really? Oh, my God! That's awesome! Great job, all of you! I wish I would have been there to see it! Wait, what do you mean we might?"

"That's the thing. Another school tied with us in winning the most categories, so Ranma-sensei is meeting with the Master of the other school and the members of the NRD to decide who will go to the final round."

Akane sighed. "Ugh! Are you serious? How will they decide?"

Satoru shrugged. "I don't know. But Ranma-sensei said he had it, and to make sure you submitted the business plan. Do you need help?"

Akane stared at the papers on the desk and nodded. "I can't think straight anymore. How about I show you what markdowns we got, and you typed them up for me?"

"You got it."

After an hour, the business plan was complete, and Akane had been able to submit it to the auditors of the NRD. Feeling a weight lifted off her shoulders, she slumped on the closest chair, with Satoru not far behind.

"Thank you so much, Satoru-kun. I would've never finished!"

"My pleasure, Akane-sensei," the man said as he titled his head and pointed behind Akane. "Hey! I think Ranma-sensei is coming!"

Akane stood up and turned around to see Ranma walking towards them, with a somber look on his face. Akane felt the world crumble around her.

_"He lost! Whatever deal they were having, he lost! We're done!"_

Ranma finally reached them and stared at the two members of the school as they waited his news.

"Ranma, how did it go? Satoru-kun told me we tied. What happened?"

Ranma stared at Satoru and then at Akane. They need to talk, alone.

"Satoru, can you give Akane and I a minute. The team will tell you what's going on."

"Hai, Ranma-sensei," Satoru said before bowing to both of his Masters and left.

"Thanks again, Satoru-kun!" Akane yelled as he left, earning her a wave from his hand.

Once Satoru had left, Ranma spoke again.

"How did the plan go?"

"It's done! Satoru helped me finish it. They've accepted it."

"Good."

"What about you guys? How did it go?"

"We won four, lost one."

"Awww, who lost?"

"Shinji, but he's fine."

"I see. So, what's the problem? You look like we were just disqualified, or something worse."

"No. We're still in," Ranma said, but his face of discomfort did not change.

"Was the tie taken care of?"

"Yes."

Akane clasped her hands together before she placed them on his shoulders. "How did you decide? Did you flip a coin for it? Please, tell me you didn't flip a coin! You suck at flipping coins!"

Ranma shook his head, still not smiling at the good news.

"So, what's the verdict?" Akane asked, dying to find out how it had all gone down.

"They've decided that another match between the two remaining schools will decide which school goes to the final."

Akane beamed at the news. They could definitely handle another fight. She was sure Shinji would be more than willing to have a rematch, and she would let him do it, too. She felt all her work with the plan had been worth it, and she could almost see the sign of certification on the dojo back in Nerima.

"Really? That's it? You were beginning to worry me! I thought we didn't have a chance, anymore!"

"We do, but…"

"But what? Who's fighting?"

Akane saw Ranma's fist clench and his head lowered to his left side.

"Ranma, who's fighting?"

When he did not respond, she took her hand to his face and forced him to look at her. He had a face of concern he just could not hide from her, anymore. "The committee decided that the trainers of the schools will fight."

Akane pulled back, replaying the words in her mind. "The trainers?"

Ranma nodded. "Akane, if you don't feel well enough to…"

"I do. I can…"

"We can come back next year…"

"Absolutely not! We're so close, Ranma! We can't let their effort go to waste."

"But, Akane…your're ill and…"

"And you don't want me to fight, AGAIN? Ranma, we've been over this!"

"I know. Just…please, be careful," he began, thinking of how many ways he could tell Akane he was worried and beg her to be all right. However, he knew she knew all that. He had made himself clear for a long time. She knew what she had to do, and he knew that what she needed right now was his support.

"I will be, Ranma."

"Please don't kill the guy. I don't think our liability insurance has kicked in, yet."

Akane blinked rapidly, absorbing what he had just said. She began laughing aloud, happy that he was going to be supportive of her fight.

"I can't make promises, Ranma," she said as she began walking away towards the ring. He jogged to reach her and held her hand as they walked together.

"You can promise me something else, though?"

"What is that?"

"Please,_ don't_ kiss this one."

Akane laughed again, and Ranma soon joined. They found the other members of their team and decided to head out to eat. The trainer fight for the tiebreaker would take place at the stadium where the final fight would take place. The NRD had decided that in order to make the decision of which school would move on to the final round, the trainers would be allowed to use special techniques and ki attacks, to even out the territory for the schools.

"We have this in the bag, Ranma," Akane said as she tightened the grip on his hand, reciting the same words he had used with her earlier today. Ranma smiled at her and squeezed back her hand.

_"Yup, this is the woman I'm gonna marry."_

xxxXXXxxx

"Welcome to the ART, ladies and gentleman!" the announcer said as he explained to spectators the last-minute adjustment to the event. He went on to explain the history of the NRD and the other nonsense that Akane was not interested in listening to.

The stadium had quickly packed up with all kinds of people from around the country. Akane stared in awe as her name appeared on the big screen, as the representative of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. When word spread that the initial part of the tournament had resulted in a tie, and that to break the tie the trainers would fight, AND that the trainers would be able to use all their skills, the public interest had skyrocketed. The fight of the top Masters had already been highly anticipated, so to find out two fights of high-caliber would take place, the expectation grew exponentially.

The team had gone to shower, change and eat. Ranma and Akane had been able to find their families as they entered the arena, but had to say goodbye to them when they left for their seats. The students were able to sit at the front row of the action, and were eager to see their trainers in action. Ranma saw Ukyo in the stands with his family and the Tendos and waved at her. Akane turned around to see who he was waving at, and recalled the story Ranma had told her during lunch regarding how Ukyo was back in their lives.

Akane's concentration was interrupted when she heard her name being called to the battle arena. She stood up, almost mechanically, and made her way to the ring. Ranma, who had just finished speaking with the referee, ran towards her and met her halfway. He held her by the shoulders and recited words of encouragement she could barely hear above the cheers of anticipation of the crowd. Once he was done, he locked his lips on hers, earning them a whole lot of whistles and catcalls from the crowd.

"Oh, my!" Kasumi said from the stands.

After he finished kissing her, he placed his forehead on hers and smiled. "Kick his ass, Akane."

"I intend to," she responded.

He pulled himself from her and ran back to his seat at the sidelines, next to Nobu Morioka, the Master of the opposing school. As soon as Ranma sat on his seat, the Master of the other school made a face of disgust towards him.

"That was disgraceful. You're too young and immature to be the Master of a dojo."

"You're old enough to retire. Why don't you shut your mouth and watch my trainer beat yours?"

"As if! That emaciated girl doesn't stand a chance."

Ranma scoffed, fully believing Akane would take care of the fight. After Akane spoke briefly with the referee, the trainer of the opposing school was called to the ring. "Ladies and gentleman, please welcome the trainer of the Red Lion School of Martial Arts: Shigeru Kobayashi!"

Akane turned around and saw the man walking to them. He was tall and well built, despite the obvious wrinkles on his face. He wore a black gi with a red lion embroidered on his back. His hair was long and black, and he held it inside a ponytail at the base of his head. The referee walked up to him and asked Shigeru if he had any questions about the rules of the match. Shigeru looked around himself and frowned.

"Where is my opponent?"

The referee flinched, knowing Akane was close enough to hear him. The referee pointed to Akane, which caused the male trainer to frown again. "Is this a joke? Women _cannot_ properly practice martial arts."

_"Great! An old geezer!" _Akane thought.

"Well, she…is the trainer. So…" the announcer tried to explain.

"Let's get this over with," Shigeru said.

The two trainers stood in the middle of the ring, facing each other as the announcer let the crowd know the fight was about to begin. Shigeru scoffed at his opponent, ridiculing the outfit she wore.

"Aren't you a little bit too dressed up for a match?"

Akane had brought with her the outfit she wore in China while she lived with the Phoenix tribe. The only thing missing from it was her swords, as she knew she was not able to use them during the fight. Even though his comment had upset her, she was not going to give him the pleasure of knowing that. When she did not respond, Shigeru continued his teasing.

"Don't tell me you were in the middle of a date, and that boy convinced you to fight his fight. He thinks he is so strong. It's a shame my master would not have a chance to wipe that smug smile off his face."

Akane frowned. She could take insults against herself, but not against Ranma. "Are you gonna fight or stand there chatting like parrot all day?"

"Insolent, girl. I hope your boyfriend still finds you attractive after I'm done with you."

"TRAINERS! FIGHT!"

Akane jumped towards him as soon as she had the go from the referee. Shigeru also ran towards her, screaming as he did. He aimed a kick towards her, but Akane ducked low enough to avoid the kick and end up facing his stomach. The height difference between them was considerable; Akane's head barely reached his elbow. She tried to punch him in his stomach but he was faster than she was, and grabbed her hand. He lifted her and swung her above him and behind him until she hit the ground. Akane recovered from the hit quickly, and held his hand with both of hers before pushing herself back up and using the short distance from his arm to his face to double-kick his head. She felt his grip loosen so she jumped above him, and landed a few feet behind him, already in a defensive stance.

The man rubbed his jaw as he turned around to face her. "You're clever. I'll give you that."

Shigeru opened his arms and then slammed his hands together. The force of the special technique made a blade of wind appear in front of him, sending Akane flying backwards, almost leaving the ring.

"Oh no! If either of them is kicked out of the ring, they lose the match!" the announcer said to the crowds.

Akane flipped so that her back was against him and she created her own whirlwind to push her back towards him. When she was far away enough from the edge of the concrete ring, she did a back flip, twisted her hand on the ground, and ended up facing him again.

"I didn't think you were desperate enough already to use ki attacks," Akane spat.

"Don't flatter yourself. I just don't want to waste more time with you."

"Why don't you show me what you've got? You're making this really easy on me."

Shigeru growled at her unwanted smugness. He took a loud step towards her, and then another, and another. Akane was not sure what he was doing because he was doing so in a slow matter. Once he took the fifth step, he disappeared.

"What the hell?"

"RAGE OF THE LION!"

Akane heard the words just before she felt Shigeru scratch her back, diagonally from right to left. She could feel as if a lion had used its paw to cut her. She fell on her knees only to receive a hit on her back from Shigeru, sending her flying off away from him.

"AKANE!" Ranma screamed from the stands.

"See? Who sends a woman to fight a man's fight? Shigeru, make sure you wipe the girl's blood of your hand!"

Ranma saw as the trainer shaking his hand, as Akane's blood had indeed remained on his fingers.

_"Damn you,"_ Ranma thought.

Akane stood up from the ground, massaging her back. She then peeled off the fabric from her wounds, before the blood made it stick to her skin. She turned around and saw Shigeru, standing there with his hands on his hips. "Are you going to give up now?"

"No."

Akane ran towards him and stopped a few feet away from him. She kneeled on the ground and placed a single finger on the ground. "Bakusaintenketsu!"

The ground between them exploded and Akane took advantage of the distraction to throw herself at him. Once she was close enough, she began a series of kicks and punches, some hitting and some missing the still confused trainer in front of her. He tried shielding himself but Akane climbed on and over him, wrapped her legs around his body from behind, and using the same momentum she had, she flipped them both in the air. On their way down, Akane shifted her legs so that she was able to flip him, so that he was now falling face down. He hit the floor without even stopping himself. Akane then jumped clean over him, calling on the ice technique to create sticks of hard ice from her hands, scratching his back on her way away from him, just as he had scratched hers.

She skid on her toes for a few feet after she landed and stood up, staring at the fallen man. The ice retracted back to her hands. He took a few seconds to stand up and as he did so, he realized she had broken his nose with the fall. He wiped the blood of his nose as he wondered how adaptable her techniques really were. He turned around and saw her waiting for him to make his move. "Now, we're even," she said.

Ranma stared at the fight, praying it would soon end. He watched as Akane and Shigeru fought at close range, far range, and anything in between. He watched as they called on special techniques and random ki attacks when the other was close to winning the match. He watched as Akane was thrown around, kicked, smashed and hurt. With every move they made, his hope would reduce. His fear would increase any time she was close to being thrown off the ring.

He also watched, however, as Shigeru was receiving as much damage as Akane received. He too had been punched and kicked, and thrown around by her. At this point, Shigeru's shirt of his gi was gone, charred by one of Akane's fire attacks. Her clothes were not in better shape than his were, and she kept bleeding from a deep cut he had given her on her left thigh. The fight had gone longer than anyone had thought it would. He looked back and saw the concerned looks of their families, and students. He looked down at his feet, thinking of calling off the fight. He knew he could do it; it was an option of the rules of the match. He opened his mouth to call it off, but the voice of the Master of the Red Lion School made him stop.

"Don't you think the girl has had enough? Look at her, she can barely stand."

Ranma looked up and saw Akane wobbling and holding her head. Ranma clenched his jaw.

_"Is she getting sick, __**now**__?"_

Akane saw the world spinning around her. She took shaky steps back, away from Shigeru who was already coming straight at her, intending on finishing her off. She held her head as if it would help with the dizziness, but it remained. She felt her stomach cramp and the beginnings of a round of vomiting reaching her mouth. She inhaled and exhaled in leaps and bounds; she could not let her illness beat her in this fight.

She looked up just in time to see Shigeru throw a punch to her stomach, and it connected. Ranma gasped, knowing that if she was feeling ill, that punch was going to send her over the edge. Akane closed her eyes and waited for Shigeru to back down. When he did, his smile faltered when he realized she had not felt the punch.

"What in the world?"

He punched her again in her face, but her face did not move. She opened her eyes again and gave him a lopsided smile. "You hit like a baby," she said.

Shigeru was irate. He began throwing a series of kicks and punches towards her, and while she did not dodge any of them, she did not seem affected by the impacts either. Shigeru, seeing this, increased his speed and strength, but the result remained the same. While still wobbly, the hits did not seem to affect her.

Ranma leaned closer to see what was going on. The Master of the Red Lion School mimicked him, also confused as to what was happening. Their families in the stands looked at each other, shrugging and scratching their heads.

_"What are you doing, Akane?"_ Ranma thought. He watched her turn slightly to the left, as if facing him, and it was then that he saw it.

A sparkle was coming from the spot Shigeru had just tried to hit. His eyes followed the next punch of the opposing trainer, and the same shine glowed. It looked like…

_"Ice,"_ Ranma thought.

And it was ice, thin but very solid ice on her body. Knowing her energies were almost depleted, as she had lost half of her stamina when she lost her Phoenix curse, she had begun depleting his. Every time Shigeru punched or kicked, she would focus her energy and surrounded the area he was aiming for, with a block of ice. The ice molded to her figure, so unless someone was close enough or saw the reflection of light on it, they would think Akane was taking the hits, full force.

_"Good thinking, Akane."_

Once Shigeru finally convinced himself that his attacks were not working, he stopped. He took a few steps back from Akane and bent his knees to rest his hands on them as he took deep breaths.

"What is she doing? I can't hurt her!"

Akane, still fighting her dizziness, extended her arms to her sides to try to balance herself. She stared at her opponent and smiled. _"He's tired. He'll pass out."_

However, Shigeru had other plans.

_"Physical attacks may not do anything to her right now, but a special technique can cancel out another special technique."_

Shigeru took an offensive stance, with his hands in front of him as if he was holding the shape of a sphere. Akane knew he was preparing for his last attack. The two Masters of the opposing schools knew this, as well.

"You can kiss your certification, goodbye, Saotome," the Master of the Red Lion School began. "It seems my trainer has had enough of that girl."

Ranma stared at the man, who looked as confident as Shigeru did.

_"What is he going to do?"_

_ "Watch closely, you runt. Your girl is going to be toasted by the ultimate technique of the Red Lion School."_

Akane took a step closer to him, which Shigeru did not like.

"What are you doing, girl? Are you in a hurry to reach your doom?"

Akane took another step towards him. _"Dammit! I can't focus my eyes. There's three of them, which one do I attack?"_

She blinked and shook her head, attempting to help her eyes focus, but they were still showing her several images of the one man in front of her. At first there five of them, but as she stepped closer, they reduced to four, and now three.

_"Just a bit closer."_

_ "This woman is ridiculous! Does she know what that distance will do to her with my attack?"_

Luckily, for Shigeru, killing your opponent was not against the rules of the match.

"Your choice, girl. I give to you, our ultimate technique. Shi Shi Hokodan!"

Ranma's eyes widened._ "Shi Shi Hokodan? How in the world do they know that technique?"_

"Akane! Get away! Run!"

Ranma's pleads fell on deaf ears. He knew that Akane had used the technique herself, and she would have probably easily avoid it had she not been on the verge of passing out. With her senses affected, her body weak, and barely three feet away from her opponent, the blast was surely going to cause major damage to her.

"Akane! Get the fuck away from him! Are you listening?"

The Master of the Red Lion Dojo laughed. "It's too late, boy. If I were you, I would call off the match. Spare her life."

Ranma growled. His rival was correct. He still had time to stop it. He still had time to prevent another death.

He opened his mouth to call off the match, this time certain this was the best thing to do. However, he was again interrupted, by Akane's voice this time.

"_Landling_, do you really think you can defeat us with that puny technique?" Akane smiled at Shigeru who had already gathered a considerable amount of energy in his hands. He watched her as her eyes had a tint of gold, and her aura began flaring red. Shigeru could only look dumbfounded at her attitude. _"Is she not afraid? Has she lost it?"_

_ "Did she just call him, landling?" _Ranma thought._ "She must be reverting to her Phoenix ways to protect herself. Her self-preservation mechanism is kicking in."_

"What are you waiting for?" she taunted the trainer.

Shigeru screamed as the ball of energy of the Shi Shi Hokodan expanded before he threw it at her. Akane did not move or attempt to protect herself. Her hands were at her sides, and her eyes stared at Shigeru.

"Akane!"

The Shi Shi Hokodan never touched her. It floated there, an inch away from her body, rotating upon itself and flaring sparks of energy of it. Shigeru's anger rose. _"Why it is stopping there? What is she doing?"_

"She's bluffing, Shigeru," his Master called. "Put more power into it!"

Shigeru nodded and increased the power of the Shi Shi Hokodan. The ball of energy did not move closer to Akane, but it did increase in size. Shigeru continued to put all his energy into it, and the force of the ball increased, forcing him to skid back. Akane, seeing the massive power threatening to consume her had yet to reach her, smiled.

"You're wasting time."

Shigeru, finally fed up with her taunts, released the Shi Shi Hokodan, exploding so massively, the entire ring was covered in its energy. Ranma joined everyone in the stadium at converting his face with his arms.

_"Akane, what have you done?"_

* * *

**A/N:** Who wants to know what happens next?


	10. Aspiring

**Chapter 9: Aspiring **

The crowd went silent when both trainers hit the ground following the explosion of the Shi Shi Hokodan. Ranma clenched his teeth, grabbing onto the rail of the fence of the sidelines with all his strength. The spectators were in shock at the apparent tie between the two seemingly unconscious martial artists on the ground. Ranma stood up and forced himself to stay where he was. If he placed one foot on the battleground, Akane would be disqualified. This fact did not stop him from screaming at her from the stands. He could still feel her battle aura, it was faint, but it was there.

"Akane! I know you can hear me! Get up!"

The owner of the other school, turned to face the younger sensei next to him, scoffing with incredulity at his efforts to revive the fallen girl. "Are you seriously thinking that girl survived that blast? She was no match against my trainer! How could a tiny woman like her ever think she could beat him? You must be hitting yourself for allowing a woman to fight a man's fight."

Ranma remained silent for a moment, realizing how he himself, just a few years ago, had shared the man's mindset regarding Akane. Today, however, he knew that anyone who underestimated Akane and dared to fight her was in for the surprise of his life. The Master thought that he had won his argument against Ranma and decided to add insult to injury by continue his teasing. "What happened kid? Cat got your tongue?"

Ranma, not affected at all by the rival Master's comments, smiled when he finally provided his response.

"Have we not been watching the same fight, or are you just fucking blind and stupid? That _tiny_ woman just kicked your trainer's ass!"

"What?"

Ranma pointed back to the battle arena, forcing the Master to look up.

"How the hell?"

Akane's arms began slowly moving, forcing herself up until she was on all fours. She was bleeding in some places, but Ranma did not think any of the injuries he could see from where he stood were anything to be concerned about. After she took deep breaths, she made herself crouch down and slowly stood up. The crowd cheered with Ranma, who heard the Master next to him curse aloud.

The opposing trainer began moving too, making the crowd gasp, readying themselves for another round. Ranma held his breath, not certain if either of them could take any more hits. The Red Lion School's Master saw his trainer stand and walk towards Akane, a ray of hope noticeable on his face.

"That's it! See? She couldn't possibly defeat him!"

Akane watched, unmoving, as her opponent wobbled towards her. He stood a couple of feet away from her, causing Akane to reflect a defensive stance. The other trainer's actions made the crowd silent for a moment, no one knowing what was to come. He slowly placed his hands on his sides before his head bowed down.

Akane frowned, not understanding at first what he was doing. From her vantage point, it looked like the trainer was getting ready to throw up. However, for the crowds surrounding them, he could only be doing one thing: he was bowing down to Akane.

"Forgive me, Akane-sensei, for doubting you. You have truly bested me."

Akane stared at the man before he fell on his knees and raised his left hand, telling the referee he had given up. After a moment of incredulity, the crowd cheered and chanted Akane's name. Akane, now recovering from the shock, bent down and offered her hand to the defeated trainer before her.

"It was a pleasure, Shigeru-san."

Shigeru accepted her hand and they aided each other to leave the arena to their respective sides.

Ranma heard the Master curse, making his way through the stands. The defeated dojo left the competition as soon as the entire team gathered around Shigeru and helped him stand. Ranma saw them leave, a broken stance bearing on their shoulders. Akane had done it. She had given him the ticket he needed to fight the last fight.

All he wanted was to run to her, and tell her how proud he was. He wanted to tell her how exceptional her fight had been, and that she could rest now, knowing she had done her part. Yet, he knew he would have to wait until after the battle for this. He was already been called down to the arena, and Akane had been taken behind the stages to receive any basic medical attention they could provide to the champion. Ranma forced himself to concentrate on his upcoming task. It was now his turn to make her proud of him.

He walked towards the center of the area, where the referee and announcer waited for him. The referee went over the rules of the match with Ranma, which were almost the same as with Akane: a full out, anything goes, martial arts fight. He was glad to know that he could use his ki attacks, and seeing as not everyone knew what tricks he had up his sleeve, he felt even more confident than he ever had.

_"This certification is in the bag!"_

"Saotome-sensei, one last thing," the referee told Ranma. "Are you the only one fighting the last round?"

Ranma, looking confused as to the meaning of the question, answered the best he could.

"Yeah? Why?"

"Are you certain you do not wish another member of the dojo to be able to replace you, should you need the aid?"

Ranma shook his head. He could not leave the fate of the dojo to the students, regardless of how good they were. And, asking Akane to fight again after everything she had just gone through fighting Shigeru was out of the question. "No, I will be the only one to fight."

The referee nodded. "Very well, Saotome-sensei. Then you should know that this is a three-round fight."

"Three rounds?"

"Yes, you will have three different opponents, one at a time."

Ranma shrugged, not at all worried about the sudden turn of events. "Three, uh? It's OK, I can't take them all."

"Good luck, Saotome-sensei."

"Thanks."

The referee left the arena, and the announcer took it as his cue to begin the final fight of the night.

"Ladies and gentleman! The moment we have all been waiting for! The final battle for the certification under NRD. Please help me welcome the opponents for the night. Join your hands for the School of the Ascending Dragon!"

The crowd responded to the announcer and clapped as loud as they could. At the stands, Nodoka took her hand to her mouth. "This can't be."

Hearing her distress, Nabiki turned to face Ranma's mother. "What's wrong?"

Nodoka shook her head. "The School of the Ascending Dragon, that's Hitomi's husband's school."

"Who's Hitomi?"

"My…my stepmom."

Nabiki did not understand the relevance of the information, but was surprised to know that Nodoka had a stepmother. She shrugged off any possible hidden meanings to Nodoka's concerns, and concentrated on getting ready to watch Ranma beat the living daylights out of whoever dared to cross his path.

_"The School of the Ascending Dragon,"_ Ranma repeated in his head, after the announcer had revealed the name of the dojo he had to defeat in order to win the tournament.

"It has all come to this!" the announcer yelled at the microphone, making the crowd roar. "This is it! The final battle will be between the highest-ranked, certified dojo in the NRD, against the aspiring dojo of Anything Goes Martial Arts!"

The announcer waited until the crowd settled a little before beginning the introductions. "Our challenger, Ranma Saotome, will begin the first round of the final battle by attempting to defeat the trainer of the AD School: Hitomi Nakajima!"

_"Nakajima? Where have I heard that name before?"_

Ranma frowned when he realized the first opponent he had to defeat was a woman; a woman older than his own mother. _"Great! There goes the never-hit-a-woman, rule!"_

Hitomi walked towards the center of the arena, stopping a few feet away from Ranma. They both bowed to each other before they were asked to take the required ten steps away from each other. The announcer, who had begun taking steps back to return to his booth, quickly made himself comfortable on his seat before signaling the beginning of the fight.

Even though they had been given the OK to begin beating each other up, neither of them moved. Hitomi stared at Ranma up and down, smiling as she did.

"What are you looking at?"

"You look just like your mother, Ranma-kun."

Ranma flinched, not expecting the comment from her. "What are you babbling about?"

"What? Has your mother not talked about me? I took care of her after her mother died. I'm, you can say, your former step-grandmother."

"What?"

Ranma's mind searched for conversations with his mom. He remembered that her own mother had died young, just as Akane's, and that her dad had remarried. He never really paid attention to the name of the woman his grandfather remarried to, but she had mentioned that they had eventually divorced once they realized it was not going to work out between them.

"That girl of yours, she's something else, isn't she. No wonder my son was so interested in her. Doesn't matter now, though. His new fiancée is just as good as the Tendo girl."

Ranma, not accustomed to chatting with his opponents, was reaching the end of his patience. "I thought we were here to fight, not exchange stories while drinking tea."

"Always the desperate one. Very well, I'll make this quick."

Hitomi began her attacks against Ranma. He easily dodge them, quickly growing tired of the usual fights he had against girls. They would scream, cuss him out, and tell him what a despicable person he was. He would in turn yawn and roll his eyes before easily defeating them in an instant.

Hitomi, seeing Ranma was not placing any effort into the fight, began growing desperate. She stopped and took a few steps back, seeing Ranma stand there, arms at his sides.

"Are you done?" he taunted her.

Hitomi was visible tired already, making Ranma's suspicious come out. Why would the most highly consecrated school under the NRD roster send a woman who was clearly below his rank to fight him? His senses told him there was more than what she was allowing him to see.

"Are you always this condescending, Ranma-kun? I'd hope your mother raised you better than that."

Ranma shrugged, not at all offended by the jab. He placed his hands behind his back and looked to his side. "I have two other people waiting to fight me, so, if you don't mind, I'd like to get this match over with."

Hitomi chuckled at his arrogance. "Aren't you the ever overconfident one? Things are not always as they seem, Ranma-kun."

"You're absolutely right. You seemed intimidating until you opened your mouth."

Hitomi had it with his insolence. She knew she did not have a chance to beat him, but she was here with only one purpose in mind. The night had begun falling, so she needed to end this fight quickly so that her husband could kick the smug boy's butt.

She turned around to see the water faucets that were behind her. She used one of her special techniques to cut the pipes, causing the water to leak out. She then turned back to Ranma and held her hands high in the air. The water behind her began pouring faster now until it created a wave behind her. She guided the wave to go above her and aimed at Ranma to push him off the stage.

Ranma scoffed at her attempt before increasing his body temperature. He extended his left arm and aimed it at the water, creating a wall of fire between him and the liquid. The water hit the invisible wall causing it to evaporate on contact. The steam left behind blinded him enough for Hitomi to launch herself at him, hitting specific points on his chest. He grabbed her arms as she flew over him and sent them both rolling towards the edge of the ring. Their bodies flew off the stage, but he twisted them so that her back landed on the grass, and he landed on her, making a handstand while holding on her shoulders.

She looked up at him once she regained her bearings, and saw his face directly above her, smiling down.

"You lose," he said as he pushed himself off her and somersaulted back to the ring. Hitomi laid there on the grass, officially disqualified. The announcer broke the silence of the crowd by declaring Ranma the winner of the first round. The referee approached him and asked him if he wanted to take a break, but Ranma declined. Hearing this, the announcer asked the crowd to clap for the defeated opponent as she made her away back to the stands.

"Ranma-kun, you know my intention was to lose to you, don't you?" Hitomi yelled at him as she walked close by.

"Is that the hurt ego talking? I don't know of any respectable martial artists who fight to lose a match."

"What makes you think I lost?"

She turned around, leaving Ranma to ponder what she had meant. He looked back to the sidelines and saw Akane sitting there, clapping with the rest of the team, which had now been allowed to sit at the bench on the field to watch the fight. Happy to see she was fine and after waving at her, he returned his concentration back to the next fight.

"Let's welcome to the ring the next opponent of this match. The very own Master of the School of the Ascending Dragon: Daichi Nakajima!"

The crowd cheered to welcome the newcomer. Ranma remained at his position, clearly unimpressed with the old man. He was tall, slender, and had short brown hair. His eyes were gray, which reminded him of someone, but he could not place his finger on it, just yet. They both bowed at each other as they joined the referee at the middle of the ring.

"Gentleman, you know the rules of the match. All out, anything goes, touch the grass and you're done. Any questions?"

Both men shook their heads.

"Alright. MASTERS, FIGHT!"

Ranma began the fight immediately, growing tired of this useless waiting around. He connected a series of kicks and punches with the man. Daichi was avoiding most of the damage, but was not able to stop a few of the punches Ranma sent his way. The opposite Master was not able to land a punch on him until the last minute before his body neared the edge of the battleground. The punch sent Ranma flying away from him, and Daichi was able to regain his balance and remain in the ring.

Ranma sat on the ground, feeling as if his jaw had just been broken in half.

Akane, who had been following Ranma's hits, knew that whatever punch Daichi had landed on him was not a particularly significant one. Ranma, however, seemed as if a twenty ton boulder had dislocated his jaw. Daichi, knowing very well what was happening to Ranma, began to laugh.

"Confused, boy? Did you really think my wife would walk away from this battle without leaving her trace on you?"

_"What is he talking about?"_ Ranma thought as he massaged his injured jaw. It was not broken, not even bruised, but it felt like it had.

"I'm surprised a man of your caliber is not familiar with the Itami Zoka technique."

"Itami Zoka?"

Tofu frowned from the stands. Nodoka, seeing how hurt her son seemed with one punch, placed her hands on the doctor to ask what was going on. "What is he saying, Ono? What's Itami Zoka?"

The doctor sighed. "This is not good," he began.

"What do you mean_ not_ good? What did that woman do to Ranma?" Genma asked.

"Itami Zoka is a technique that involves pressure points. The goal is to alter the nerves that act as pain receptors to the brain. Ranma, being as strong as he is, has a high resistance to great pain, so that sucker punch shouldn't have made any impact on him. If my theory is correct, however, Hitomi changed his pain receptors. Ranma will now feel any hit, as small as it is, and it will hurt twenty times worse than it really is."

At the same time Tofu had explained the technique to the attentive members of his family, Daichi had explained the technique to Ranma.

_ "That bastard! He set me up for this! I can't let him touch me."_

"This will be a swift fight, Ranma-sensei."

Ranma stood up, ignoring the pain in his jaw. He took a defensive stance, which he rarely used, but he had no other option. His students had worked their butts off to get them here, and then Akane had taken quite the beating for him to be where he was now. He could not allow a cheap technique to take away what they had worked so hard to obtain.

"Good luck lying on a hand on me again, Daichi."

"We'll see about that."

Daichi neared Ranma and stopped close to him before disappearing. Ranma took a step back before feeling a kick on his back. He flinched and crouched down as the pain was sent to every nerve of his body.

_"Ugh, this really hurts!"_

When he partially recovered, he looked up and saw he was surrounded by a dozen of Daichi, running circles around him. They took turns taking hits at him, preventing him from standing up. Every punch and every kick sent waves of heightened pain through him, making him curl up and clench his jaw.

"Ranma!"

Akane yelled from the stands as she watched the assault on her fiancée. _"I have to stop this fight! They're not playing fair,"_ she thought as she recalled Daichi's explanation of the technique Hitomi had used on him. She stood up and began her way to the referee to end the match, but her students stopped her.

"Akane-sensei, where are you going?"

"Where do you think, Daisuke-kun? To stop this fight! Ranma is at a disadvantage, here!"

"Don't do that, Akane-sensei! Ranma-sensei can still win. The fight just started; give him a chance," Shinji stated.

"But…"

"Shinji is right. Ranma-sensei believed in you to win your fight. Now it's your turn," Hisoka said.

Akane listened to the pleas of her students, but could not help to feel like stopping the fight was the right thing to do. She would allow him to continue for now, but if she saw that Ranma could get severely hurt, she was throwing in the towel and would deal with his anger later.

Meanwhile, Ranma continued to be showered with hits all around his body.

_"I gotta get out of this circle. They're gonna make me pass out!"_

He ignored the pain as much as he could as he gathered enough energy to invoke the electricity technique. He screamed as his energy was expelled through his pores and towards the illusion Daichi was creating around him. The flare reached its target and sent Daichi flying away from Ranma. Ranma took this chance to roll away from him, and rested on his back. He took deep breaths as he stared at the sky, slowly recovering from the whipping he had just received.

_"Fuck! I can't let him do that again."_

Ranma sat up and stared at Akane. She was chewing her nails and twisting her clothes with her fingers. He knew she was worried, and with a cause this time. Daichi was slowly standing up, feeling the pain of electricity run through his muscles. Ranma finally stood up and spoke to his opponent.

"I'm sure that hurts like a son of a bitch, uh?"

Ranma would know, as he himself had shocked his body as he had shocked Daichi just now, while trying to master the technique himself. He would make sure to thoroughly thank Akane for teaching him these techniques once the battle was done. Daichi finally regained his senses, and walked closer to Ranma. Ranma took another step back, not wanting to experience another round of hits.

Daichi made a fist with his hand, and then aimed it Ranma, releasing some form of energy from his hands. It had been quick, so only Ranma had noticed it. To the spectators, it seemed as if he had just made a gesture of fight to Ranma. The energy missed Ranma by a mile, making him wonder about its true purpose. He did not have to wait long to know when he heard Akane yelp.

He turned around and saw Akane holding on to her leg as the wound on her thigh had reopened and blood began trickling down her leg again. Ranma growled as he saw her sit down while his students attempted to help her. Ranma cursed under his breath when he realized that Daichi had purposely missed him so he could hit Akane to upsurge her wound.

"_Motherfucker! I'm gonna kill him."_

Ranma turned around to face his opponent, but Daichi was already on him, beginning a new round of hits. Ranma dodged what he could, but the few hits he did receive were painful enough to limit his ability to return the favor to Daichi.

"What's the matter, Ranma? Are you letting your anger blind you?"

Ranma clenched his jaw, feeling the pain return to him. "You didn't have to touch her, Daichi! She was not involved."

"Oh! But she is! You will soon find out why. Besides, didn't the referee say that anything goes? You oughta know that yourself, seeing that's the name of your pathetic school."

"You….ugh!" Ranma was not able to finish his comeback when he felt Daichi's fist connect with his stomach. Ranma felt to the floor holding his stomach with one hand. _"I think that idiot just broke a rib!"_

Ranma looked up to see Daichi coming closer to him, ready to end the fight. The ground below him received droplets of sweat coming from his forehead. He had to end this fight now or he was going to lose. He closed his eyes as he got up and walked up to Daichi, meeting him halfway.

Daichi took this as a sign that he was going to attack, so he jumped the gun and began attacking Ranma again. Ranma used all his energy in dodging his attacks and lulling his opponent to his final attack. Akane, knowing what he was doing, jumped up from her seat.

_"He's doing it. He's calling on Hiryu Shoten Ha!"_

Ranma continued to avoid Daichi's hits until they reached the middle of the spiral. Once there, Ranma's last bit of energy was used to connect the punch with Daichi, sending him flying upwards inside the biggest invocation of Hiryu Shoten Ha Akane had seen. The crowd held on to their seats and covered their heads as debris flew everywhere. The students, being so close to the action, were sent to hide under the bench they had been sitting on by Akane while she stood in front of them and created a barrier of thick ice around them, protecting them from the impact.

The students watched in awe at Akane's ability to call upon the technique, and sustain the blows of Ranma's attack. They knew that Ranma and Akane were stronger than they led people to believe, but they never imagined how strong they truly were. Slowly, the wind stopped and once Akane felt there was nothing else that could harm them, she lowered the barrier of ice and waited for the dust to settle.

Once the cloud of dust disappeared, Ranma was still standing in the middle of the ring, his fist still pumping in the air. The crowd got up from their covers behind the stands and sat back in their seats. The students that had been hiding behind Akane slowly crawled out from under the bench, and walked closer to where Akane was standing. Everyone stared at the ring, in utter confusion, until the announcer expressed the same question that was in everybody's mind.

"Where is Daichi-sensei?"

He was nowhere to be found. The ring held only Ranma's body. Ranma lowered his arm and kneeled down, breathing hard after exerting so much energy so fast. He looked up and saw that Akane was all right, so he let out a sigh of relief. It had not been until he released his punch that he realized Akane was too close to the battleground. He hoped that she had found some sort of shelter, and was glad to see she had done so.

"Ranma-sensei," the announcer began, "What happened to Daichi-sensei?"

Ranma looked at the announcer before lifting his arm and pointing away from him. Everyone followed the direction of his pointing hand and found what he was aiming for. Daichi was hanging from a lamppost, clearly knocked out. He then proceeded to fall down and hit the grass.

The announcer adjusted his glasses, not believing his eyes. He then quickly recovered from his shock and spoke into his microphone. "Daichi-sensei is unable to continue! Ranma-sensei wins the round!"

The crowd roared at the announcement as the paramedics lifted Daichi from the ground. Ranma smiled at his short-lived victory, knowing that he still had one more person to fight against. The referee walked up to Ranma and asked him to leave the ring for now, as they had to do some major cleanup before the last match. Ranma complied and ran towards Akane, who hugged him as soon as he was within reach.

"Ranma! Are you alright?"

Ranma nodded, returning her embrace. He looked over her shoulder and saw his students, their mouths still wide open after seeing the damage Ranma had not only received but inflicted as well. "Ranma-sensei! When are you gonna teach us how to do that?"

Ranma chuckled at the eyes of admiration his students were giving him, even Satoru. "How about when you are old enough to drive?"

"You're on!"

Ranma pulled away from Akane and she led him to sit with her at the bench on the sidelines. He looked down at her leg and saw she had a rag wrapped around her thigh. "Are you OK?"

Akane nodded, smiling at him even though the pain in her leg was bad. "I'll be all right. How about you? That bitch screwed you up. Next time I see her, I'm gonna make sure she regrets that."

Ranma smiled at his fiancée's jealous and overprotective side. Even if she complained about this, hers was not any better than what he had shown so far. Their conversation was interrupted when Akane's cell phone rang. She reached over to grab it, and flipped it open.

"Doctor Tofu?"

"Yes Akane, it's me. Is Ranma with you?"

"Yes, he is. Want to talk to him?"

"No. Is he still feeling pain?"

Akane looked up and slapped Ranma on the face, making him cry in pain.

0"Oi, Akane! What the fuck was that for?"

Akane frowned and returned to her conversation on the phone. "Yes, he is. Can you help him?"

"Security won't let me come down there, but I can tell you what to press to reverse the effects of the technique."

"That will have to do," she said as she paid attention to Ono's instructions. Ranma saw her nod a few times and ask for clarification. Once she was done, she thanked Tofu and flipped the phone closed.

"What was that about?"

"Tofu just told me how to reverse the trick Hitomi used on you…"

"OK, well…then use it!"

"Uh, Ranma I don't know if I should."

"Why not? I can't take on a third guy like I did Daichi. They already saw me using the Hiryu Shoten Ha. That trick ain't gonna work on them again."

"Ranma, if…if I miss a pressure point by an inch…you…well, you won't like what it does to you."

"What?"

"Doctor Tofu said that the pressure points I'm about to use are close to other pressure points for another technique."

"If you miss, what would they do?"

Akane blushed and looked behind her, making sure the students were out of hearing range. She leaned closer to Ranma and whispered in his ear. Ranma matched her blush before looking at his crotch.

"How long?"

"Three days."

Ranma sighed. Did he really want to risk carrying a tent in his pants for three days while trying to get his pain endurance back? _"Yes, I do."_

"Ranma?"

"Just, do it, Akane."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Hurry up; they're about to finish cleaning up."

"OK," she said as she practiced the finger movement on the air without touching him yet. After she practiced it three times, she readied herself to actually do it. Ranma closed his eyes and felt the points being touched. When he opened his eyes, his eyes went immediately to his crotch. When nothing happened for a few seconds, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Akane looked up to him before she spoke. "Do you think it worked?"

Ranma shrugged and was about to stand up when Akane punched him in the face as hard as she could. Ranma did not flinch or move, but raised an eyebrow at her. "Was that really necessary?"

"It didn't hurt?"

"No."

"YES! IT WORKED!"

Akane threw herself at him and kissed him, making their students turn around and whistle as their eyes caught something of interest on the walls. Once she pulled back from him, she grabbed onto his sleeves. "Ranma, I just want you to know that I lo-"

He silenced her by pressing his index finger to her lips. He knew what she about to say, but after thinking about it, he wanted to be the first one to say it. "I know."

He kissed her forehead one last time before his name was called again by the announcer. Ranma waved to his students as he climbed over the ring again, and stood in the middle of the arena.

"Ladies and gentleman! Now that we've ended this short break, help me welcome the last opponent of the night. Join your hands for Master-in-Training of the Ascending Dragon School: Satoshi Nakajima!"

"Da _fuck_?"

Satoshi, _the_ Satoshi, walked up to the ring and stood a few feet away from Ranma. Satoshi's smile was as smug as his attitude as he waved to the crowd. He eyed Akane for a second before finally resting his eyes on Ranma. Ranma's fists clenched in anticipation. He had waited long enough to have an opportunity to beat the shit out of him, and now he was going to have his chance.

"Saotome, fancy seeing you here."

"I could same the same to you. I never thought you would voluntarily walk to your grave."

"My grave? Oh! You mean to say you think you have a chance against me?"

Ranma scoffed. "Are you kidding? After beating the shit out of your mom and dad, how hard can you be?"

"You'd be surprised."

Satoshi stared at Akane again, making Ranma feel jealous. Satoshi noticed and chuckled.

"Don't worry, Saotome. She made it perfectly clear she didn't want anything to do with me. However, your ex-fiancée is happy to be by my side."

"Ex-fiancée?" Ranma frowned in confusion until an earlier conversation he had had popped in his mind.

_"You're right! I wanted to warn you about the Master of the dojo that will represent the NRD."_

_ "What about him?"_

_ "He…well…the NRD doesn't expect anyone to win this tournament. They have strictly ordered the NRD Dojo Master rep to crush whoever wins the tournament. Knowing you, I know you will win, but I thought you should know they won't make it easy on you."_

_ "I never expected them to. How do you know, anyway?"_

_ "People talk when they eat."_

Ranma glared at Satoshi, the later knowing Ranma had figured it out.

"Ukyo? You're engaged to Ukyo? How did that happen?"

"Same as you and Akane; arranged marriage. Highly uncommon these days, uh?"

"And she accepted?"

"She didn't have a choice, just as Akane didn't. Otherwise, she would have not settled with someone like you."

Ranma clenched his jaw. He seemed to be doing that a lot these days.

"Are you done with your ranting party? Akane and I have a certification to win. We'd love it if you would, y'know, fuck off and die?"

Satoshi frowned, not at all amused by Ranma's insults. Their banter was interrupted by the call of the referee, making sure they were ready to fight. When both men nodded, the announcer proclaimed the beginning of the fight.

Ranma wasted no time and held Satoshi by his neck, pressing as hard as he could. Satoshi tried to kick and scratch Ranma, but Ranma did not flinch. Satoshi's struggle made Ranma's grip tightened. He then called on the fire technique, and turned Satoshi into a human torch.

As Satoshi screamed, Ranma called upon the electricity technique and shocked his muscles. He then converted him into a cube of ice and dropped him on the ground. The crowd went silent at witnessing such aggression from Ranma, but he did no care. _"Anything goes, they said."_

Ranma watched the cube remain there, unmoving, until it began shattering. Ranma was shocked to see Satoshi emerge from the cube by using the fire technique and melting the ice. He then stood up, a grin on his face.

"Did you really think those nature techniques would work on me? I've been using them longer than you even knew about them."

"What?"

Satoshi, now upright, called on a cube of ice in his right hand, and a small wave of water in his other hand. He lifted his hands so that they were above his head, and merged the two techniques, causing the water to be cold as it fell on his head.

Ranma watched in awe as Satoshi's body changed. His fingernails grew until they turned into claws. His canine teeth enlarged into fangs, and his gi tore on his back to give way to wings.

_"What the hell?"_

Ranma was speechless as he saw the transformation completed. Satoshi stood there, a grin on his face. He had turned himself into something Ranma thought he would never see again.

"How do you like my curse? I picked it up in a place called Jusenkyo, 8 years ago. Ukyo tells me you're familiar with it?"

"You…you're a Phoenix?"

Satoshi laughed. "Of course not, you fool! I just fell into one of their springs. Based on the other curses available, I'd say I got a good deal, uh?"

Ranma shook his head, recovering from his initial shock. This was what Ukyo had been trying to warn him about. This was the reason why Satoshi was the last contender, instead of his dad. He recalled the story Akane had told him about her fight. If Satoshi had been training with his Phoenix curse for that long, he knew the fight would not be an easy one.

_"But I still have a chance. I killed their Lord. I can defeat a fake Phoenix."_

Ranma took a step back as Satoshi used his wings to fly. Once he was in the air, he began sending attacks down at Ranma. Ranma ran around the ring, jumping and rolling around to avoid being hit. He had no idea what other tricks Satoshi had up his sleeve, so he would avoid any attack he could.

Ranma would respond to his attacks in between by throwing ki attacks of his own towards Satoshi. He was aiming towards his wings, to force him to come down. When his attempts proved unsuccessful, he decided to change strategies.

_ "If the winged freak doesn't come to me, I will go to the winged freak."_

Ranma concentrated his energy, particularly the wind technique, until he began levitating in the air. Satoshi narrowed his eyes at him, unhappy of the control Ranma had on the nature techniques.

"You haven't been wasting time learning the techniques, have you?"

Ranma shook his head. "In between studying, teaching, and hanging around with Akane, I have a few minutes to spare during the day."

Satoshi growled, angry at the mention of Akane. He was engaged to Ukyo, and he would definitely marry her as he had been appointed to do, but he did not love her. He wanted Akane, and when he found out that Ranma was engaged to her, he made it his personal vendetta to break them apart.

_"If I can't be with her, neither will you."_

Satoshi looked at Akane and saw she was gone. His quick distraction allowed Ranma to jump at him and turned him around to tear the wings off his back. Satoshi cried in pain as he fell to the ground. Ranma, still being in the air, invoked a Shi Shi Hokodan and showered Satoshi with it, putting all the energy he could on it. Once the explosion disappeared, Ranma saw Satoshi shaking on the ground. He moved to his side and sat on all fours. As he did so, his wings began re-growing until they were back to normal.

_"Dammit."_

"No wonder Akane was not surprised at Shigeru's attack. She'd already seen it," Satoshi said in between coughs.

He finally stood up and walked out of the crater Ranma had made with his attack. Ranma saw Satoshi regain his bearings and he began flying towards him again. Ranma and Satoshi began a series of kicks and punches, trying to find an opening in the other's defenses. Ranma found one and hit Satoshi, forcing him to fall down again. As he did, Satoshi extended his arm and from his hand, a sharp piece of metal appeared, piercing Ranma's shoulder before retracting the metal piece back to Satoshi's hand.

Ranma lost concentration of the wind technique and fell to the battle arena, holding his shoulder with his hand. "What the hell did he just do to me?"

Satoshi got up again and walked to Ranma, pressing him down on the floor with his foot on his chest.

"Did you really think there are only a handful of nature techniques? Mother Nature is so very generous; giving us all the elements we need, and want. Did you think metals could not be called upon?"

Ranma felt Satoshi stand completely over him, and using one of his feet, he began pressing on his wound. Ranma screamed in pain as he felt the heel of Satoshi's boot pinch on his already injured shoulder blade.

Ranma used his free hand to hold onto Satoshi's leg, tightening his grip when Satoshi tried to set himself free. Ranma held him in place as he invoked water and fire, and showered Satoshi with the hot liquid, turning him back into his human form. Satoshi tried to call on the cold water again, but Ranma kicked him away from it and quickly pinned him down.

"Go ahead, beat me! Do you think that means you've really won? Akane will soon realize that you're a good for nothing, and she will leave you for a real man."

"Shut up!"

Satoshi did not struggle to set himself free, but continued his verbal assault on Ranma.

"Does the truth hurt? How long do you think it will take before college life shows her there are other men out there? How long until she decides to leave you for one of them?"

"She won't! She won't leave me! Stop talking or I'll slit your throat!"

Satoshi laughed. "Why don't you? You have the chance," he said as he opened his arms and arched his throat, exposing it to Ranma. Ranma struggled with his desire to kill the guy and the reality of not having a valid reason to do so. When Satoshi saw Ranma was not going to further injure him, he screamed a chant.

"Itai Danketsu Sa Seru."

Ranma's eyes opened wide, knowing he had heard that technique before. He pushed himself up from Satoshi as Ranma kicked the fallen man, hard. Ranma felt someone kicked him as well and he took a few steps back. He looked around, expecting to see Satoshi up and about, but he remained on the ground.

"Who hit me?"

"Yourself," Satoshi said as he stood up. "Posing as a Phoenix has its advantages. They're always willing to teach a trick or two."

Ranma was then hit with the realization of what Satoshi had done to him. He had used on him the same technique Akane had used on Saffron to share pain. Now, if he hit Satoshi with all his strength, he would have it sent right back to him. Satoshi would receive the injury, but so would Ranma.

_"Fuck. Now what?"_

All he could do now was putting all of his energy into one final technique and hope that he would stand long enough to survive the attack.

"So? Are you done, Saotome?"

"You wish."

Ranma jumped to Satoshi and tackled him down. Satoshi flipped them over so that Satoshi was on top, he punched Ranma, taking advantage that he would not feel the pain Ranma was surely feeling. Ranma, on the other hand, tried to avoid whatever hit he could as he concentrated on his final act.

He was finally able to release one of his hands from Satoshi's grip and pressed his hand on the floor as he screamed.

"Bakusaintenketsu Kyokutan'na"

Satoshi smiled, hearing only the first half of the name of the technique. "Do you really think that silly mining technique is going to hurt me?"

Ranma did not respond as the ground beneath them began shaking. Ranma kept Satoshi close to him as the ground in the middle of the arena began crumbling down. It seemed the ground below them was hollow, and Ranma knew exactly what was underneath. The ground gave way to show a natural well-like hole. Ranma flipped Satoshi around so that he was falling down through the narrow hole that was forming in the ground. They free fell in circles several feet until Satoshi began feeling waves of heat around them. He looked down and saw a river of lava awaited them below. He looked up at Ranma who was smiling at him.

"Are you fucking crazy?! You'll get us both killed!"

"Oh well," was Ranma's response.

Satoshi struggled to try to break free from Ranma, but he had a tight grip on him. He knew Ranma was insane, but he never thought he was suicidal. As they continued their circling motion, Ranma called on the soul of ice, and fueled his technique with the heat below them. At the last possible minute, Ranma called on a special Hiryu Shoten Ha, which sent them both flying away from the lava beneath them. Ranma saw as Satoshi's body was beaten to a pulp by the technique, and felt every hit Satoshi received.

He ignored the pain as much as he could as he aimed down and used the ice technique to seal the hole to prevent the lava from oozing out. The crowd saw as a similar technique that had defeated Daichi appeared in front of them, but this time Ranma was caught in the middle of the tornado, receiving the same hits Satoshi was.

Ranma closed his eyes as they both fell to the ground, analyzing his desperate technique. He knew that repeating the spiraling technique he used on Daichi would not have worked on Satoshi, because he would not repeat the motion knowing what was coming. He needed to make Satoshi angry and desperate enough to release his anger, but in order to gather enough energy he needed all the heat he could conjure. He remembered from his recent geography class that a small river of lava coursed under the grounds of these parts, as they were fed by the pits of Mount Fuji, which was close by.

He used the heat from the molten rock to clash with his soul of ice to create a special type of Hiryu Shoten Ha, allowing him to injury Satoshi enough that he knew he would not be able to walk for months. The spiral was formed by their circling fall, creating a horizontal spiral as they fell. The other side of using this special technique was that Ranma could feel the same pain Satoshi could, so he was going to be beat up as well.

Ranma felt the pain suddenly stop. He opened his eyes and felt a weight on his body. He looked down and saw Satoshi's body on his. Thankfully, for Ranma, Satoshi had passed out before Ranma had, making the link between their bodies to be broken, allowing Satoshi to feel the full force of the attack and Ranma to receive only part.

Ranma sat up and rolled Satoshi to his side. He was as unconscious as his father was. Ranma fell on his back again, exhausted from the fight.

_"I did it! __**We**__ did it! Akane, we won!"_

Everything after the fight happened too fast.

He saw the paramedics taking Satoshi away from him, and he heard the announcer declaring the School of Anything Goes martial arts as the winner of the ART. He heard the crowd cheering for him, and fireworks being released into the sky. After catching his breath, he was finally able to stand up. He looked around himself, searching for Akane's face in the crowd that had now ran down the stairs to the field. People cheered and clapped, chanting Ranma's name. Members of other schools watched in awe, quickly learning that the tiny School of Anything Goes martial arts was a force to be reckoned with. Some of the opposing trainers and Masters walked up to Ranma to shake hands, telling him how well he had done. From the corner of his eye, Ranma saw Ukyo approach the beat up Satoshi and kissing him on the lips.

_"Guess Satoshi was not kidding. Ukyo is his fiancée."_

While he had no love interest in Ukyo, he was still upset that she had hidden that important part of her life from him. Though, now, her warnings about watching over the Master of the Ascending Dragon school made sense. _"Of course she knew I would fight Satoshi. That's why she sent me that invitation. She wanted me to be here."_

He made a mental note to talk to Ukyo after the tournament chaos ended. For now, all he wanted to do was find Akane, and celebrate their victory, together. He saw reporters approaching him, and he waved at them, but did not say much. He saw Genma, Nabiki and Soun standing at one of the hall entrances of the stadium. Nabiki was waiving at him to come to them. Genma and Soun's backs were facing him, as they looked towards the entrance of one of the locker rooms under the stands.

Ranma quickened his pace, ignoring the questions from the media and cheering fans behind him. He reached Nabiki and saw a face that he never thought he would see on her: utter fear.

"What's going on?" he asked, fearing the worst.

"Ranma, I'm about to tell you something important, and I need you to remain calm until I'm done. OK?"

Ranma nodded, staring deeply into her eyes.

"Something's wrong with Akane…"

"I know…she's sick, she told me."

Nabiki shook her head. "No, Ranma. Something's happened to her while you were fighting. She passed out inside the locker room."

"What?" Ranma asked as he tried to go around Nabiki to run inside the locker room. Nabiki moved aside and stood in front of him. "Ranma, listen to me. Tofu, Kasumi and your mom are already inside with her. They're helping her. But, we need you to calm down, OK? Let them help her."

Ranma looked over Nabiki's shoulder only to hear the scream of his mom.

"NO! ONO, DO SOMETHING!"

Nabiki, hearing the scream, turned around and joined Soun and Genma as they all stared at the paramedics arriving at the scene. The sound of the sirens and Nodoka's screams made the crowd grow silent. They all parted ways to let the two EMS members run inside the locker room.

"Akane…"

He began pushing his way through the crowd, but Genma, Nabiki and Soun intercepted him, pushing him back.

"No, Ranma. Let them do their work. This is beyond what you or we can do for her."

"But…Akane! Akane, can you hear me?"

Before his eyes, the paramedics came out of the locker room, carrying a gurney with Akane lying on it. He saw Tofu and Kasumi speaking with the other members of the emergency services, and Nodoka standing at the entrance of the lockers, with tears in her eyes as she held onto Akane's hands, begging for forgiveness.

"I'm so sorry, Akane! I'm sorry about what I said to you!"

Ranma continued to struggle to reach Akane, but the energy spent on the fights and his fear at seeing Akane being taken away to the ambulance was wearing on him. He watched as Tofu's and Kasumi's conversation was stopped when the paramedics began screaming at each other.

"She's seizing! Get her on her side!"

Akane began convulsing, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. She then began foaming from her mouth, shaking violently as she did. Ranma heard Nodoka screaming again, asking what was wrong with her. The EMS responded by hurriedly carrying her into the ambulance.

"Ono, only one of us can go with her. It should be you. I'll stay behind and let the others know what happened," Kasumi told her husband.

Tofu nodded as he started his way to the ambulance.

"Where are you taking her?" the doctor asked the driver of the ambulance.

"Nerima Hospital. It's closer than Shinjuku Memorial."

Ono relayed the information to his wife before jumping inside the ambulance that had Akane, and taking off. Nodoka rejoined her husband, and Kasumi made her way to the family as well. Ranma had stopped fighting, his eyes lost as he stared at the back of the ambulance that had taken his fiancée away. He could hear the murmurs of the crowd and see the flashes of cameras as they tried to snatch images of the events unfolding in front of them.

Ranma's anger finally made him break free of their grips, letting it all out. Just then, he felt something hit him in his neck, and the last thing he saw was his mother, pleading him to stop.

* * *

**A/N:** Last chapter and epilogue are all that are left. Stay tuned!


	11. Alive

**Chapter 10 – Alive ****  
**

Ranma's eyes fluttered open to the darkness surrounding him. He lifted his hand and rubbed his forehead as the wave of pain hit him again. He swallowed hard and felt his tongue scratch his palate as how dry his mouth was. He used his hand to feel around him and felt he was lying on top of a bed. He was not under the covers and he was still wearing normal clothes. Waking up like this, with no immediate recollection of what had sent him to bed in the first place, it reminded him of when he woke up at Nerima hospital after…

_"Oh, my god! No! No! N_o!" he told himself as he stumbled to get off the bed.

He walked around blindly looking for a switch, and when he finally found one and turned it on, his fears multiplied. He was standing in what he could have sworn was the same room he had woken up in before. The same bed, the same heart monitor machine, the same window, and the same two doors in the room he had seen when he woke up were there. He began hyperventilating, his mind racing with the possible implications of what he was seeing.

Did he ever go to China? Did he ever find Akane? Were they ever truly reunited, again?

"Was I dreaming this whole time?"

A knock on the door made him jump as he headed to the door and pulled it open Behind it, was Nodoka and a nurse. His eyes widened at the familiar scene. "Ranma! You're awake!"

The familiar phrase pushed him over the edge. He slid down and sat on the floor, holding his head as it throbbed in pain. Everything was so familiar, had he been drugged again? Had he just woken up to reality after months of sleep? "Mom, where's Akane?"

Nodoka turned to face the nurse, who nodded and left immediately, knowing another round of relaxants were probably in order. Nodoka kneeled down in front of her son and caressed his head. "Ranma, honey. Are you OK?"

Ranma grabbed Nodoka's arm and pulled it away from him. He looked up to face her and tried his best to read her eyes, but he just could not. Whatever they had given him to knock him out, was still lingering in him. "Akane, where is she?"

"Ranma, Akane…"

"RANMA! Are you OK?"

Ranma looked up and saw his dad running towards them. Seeing him sit next to them on the floor, and having asked the question twice without obtaining a response, Ranma knew he was getting nowhere, extremely fast. He stood up and pushed his parents out of the way as he wobbly walked through them and shakily made his way down the bright halls of Nerima Hospital, holding his weight against the walls.

"'Akane…where is she?"

"Ranma! Stop! You can't hold yourself up!" Genma screamed from behind him.

Ranma heard them approaching him, and he knew they were going to drag him back to the room. He focused as much as he could in gathering energy, and when he felt his parents were on his heels, he released his ki as a small whirlwind, blowing both parents away from him.

"AKANE! AKANE!" he began screaming her name, as he picked up his pace.

When he finally reached the corner, he saw a swarm of doctors running towards him. He stopped and extended his hands in front of him, ready to invoke the mother of all Shi Shi Hokodan he could conjure. "Stay away! I will blow this place to pieces!"

The medical staff, some of who had been watching the tournament at home, knew what Ranma was capable of. They stood there, unmoving, telling the other staff that the man in front them was dangerous. When Ranma saw that were not attempting to sedate him again, he spoke again. "Tell me where she is! Where is Akane?"

They all remained silent and stared at each other. One of the nurses, the newly acquired one, scratched his head, allowing his rookie status to show.

"Are you related to the patient?"

Ranma's anger rose even more, allowing further overriding of the after-effects of the drug he had been injected with. He slowly walked to the rookie while the other doctors just stared, none of them daring to stop him. Once he was close enough to him, he grabbed the nurse by his collar and pulled him closer to his face.

"She is as close to being my wife as you are to being sent to your grave, right now. Now, _where_ is she?"

One of the doctors witnessing the scene walked up to Ranma and placed his hand on his shoulder. Ranma turned, ready to kick the living lights out of the man who dared touch him, but he quickly recognize the doctor as being the one that had treated him last time he was here. Ranma stared at the other man's hand still on his shoulder, but did not attempt to push him away. When the doctor saw that Ranma was willing to listen, he spoke.

"She's in the operating room. If you promise to calm down, I'll take you to her."

Ranma breathed heavily as he considered his offer. He stared at the other doctors and heard Nodoka behind him, pleading him to listen to the doctor's request. Once he realized he needed their help to find her, he dropped the rookie nurse and faced the doctor. "After you," Ranma said.

The doctor signaled to his colleagues to leave them alone, and the mob quickly scattered, not tempted at all to be the next in line to be beaten to a pulp. A couple of the other nurses lifted the man Ranma had scared enough to leave a wet mark on his pants, and dragged him away from the martial artist's grasp.

After a few minutes of following the doctor through the maze of halls, and seeing his parents walking next to the doctor, he realized that the doctor was being true to his word. "I'm sorry, Doc. I didn't mean to hurt anyone."

The doctor nodded, silently accepting his apology. He had been treating Ranma for two years once he was asleep, and when he had woken up, he had not seemed to be the random aggressive type. However, from the small conversations with his parents, the doctor knew that the man behind them had an incredible soft spot for his girl.

"I understand. Though, I must warn you that if you try to pull that off again, I will have to have you arrested."

Ranma nodded, now ashamed of his actions. When no one spoke to continue his reprimand, he made a quick jog to walk next to the doctor and his parents. "Can I see her?"

The doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid not. She has been in the operating room since she was brought here. She has some internal bleeding and we haven't been able to figure out where it's coming from."

Ranma's hopes shattered. No, he had not been dreaming, but the reality was not much better either. He silently followed the trio of adults until they reached the end of the hall. Ranma looked up and saw the hall ended with two double doors. Right before the doors, there was a row of plastic chairs attached to either wall of the narrow hall. Soun, Nabiki, Kasumi and Ono were now occupying the chairs.

Nodoka and Genma sat as soon as they arrived, while Ranma stood and rested his back against the wall. He took a moment to stare at the occupants of the makeshift waiting room, noticing the grim faces on all of them. He remained silent, paying special attention to all the side conversations they had, waiting for any of them to slip further details of Akane's health status. The doctor he knew had disappeared behind the doors a while ago, and had not come out since then. After a while, one of the nurses came out and called for assistance from the family. She carried a clipboard with a stack of papers, and a pen.

She took one of the chairs and began asking questions to anyone who would be able to answer them.

"Did she say she wasn't feeling well?"

"She had been throwing up a little, sometimes even blacked out, but we didn't think any of it. She has been under a lot of stress, working and studying full-time. We just thought she was tired," Kasumi stated.

Ranma closed his eyes, remembering the occasions he had witnessed the symptoms they just described. He felt guilty for not pressing for her to ask for a second opinion after she told him that Dr. Tofu's visit found nothing wrong with her. Even after she had told him something was medically wrong with her, he still let her fight Shigeru.

"Was she taking any prescribed medication?"

"No," Soun answered, this time.

"Did she do any drugs of any kind?"

"Never!" Kasumi stated, offended by the implication.

The nurse nodded and continued taking notes. "Is she sexually active?"

The room fell silent as they all turned to face Ranma. He felt the stares burn holes in him before he answered without even looking at them. "_No_, she _isn't_."

The nurse cleared her throat in an attempt to clear the tension that had gathered in the room before she continued her questioning. "Does she have a history of previous illnesses or surgeries?"

At this point, doctor Tofu interfered. "Ma'am, I'm sorry to be rude but we have already answered these questions before. You have her file, why are you asking them again?"

The nurse understood their frustration. She knew that asking these questions was pointless, but the doctors behind the doors were stumped. All they had been doing so far with Akane had been patch work, as none of them had a clue how she was losing so much blood.

"The doctors feel that we may be missing some vital information needed to properly treat her. They wanted me to dig deeper."

Ranma opened his mouth, ready to give the nurse a piece of his mind when another nurse appeared from the opposite side of the hall. "Nurse Takahashi! Nurse Takahashi!"

The nurse who had been asking those questions rolled her eyes as she stood up, excused herself, and met the younger nurse halfway. "I've told you not to scream like that! You're going to scare the patients!"

The younger nurse, who rested her weight on her legs as she caught her breath nodded. "I know, I'm sorry. The doctors in the OR asked for more blood, but we've run out."

Ranma's attention was caught when the older nurse, the one that had been called Takahashi turned around to face them. Akane's blood type was rare, same as her mom's, so she knew it was going to be difficult to be found. The nurse was at a loss as she stared at the faces of Akane's family, realizing they knew what this meant.

"What do we do, Takahashi?"

"What blood type do you need?" Ranma asked.

The younger nurse, just noticing his presence, narrowed her eyes at him. "Who's he?"

The older nurse, knowing Ranma's current short fuse, shushed the younger nurse immediately. Takahashi opened the file and showed him the type. Ranma read it before staring at Dr. Tofu. "Take mine."

Nodoka frowned, unaware that Ranma and Akane had the same blood type. She knew her son had a rare type, but the odds of matching Akane's was news to her.

"Ranma, you yourself lost a lot of blood at the tournament. You can't be losing some more so fast," Tofu argued.

Ranma growled as he walked up to the doctor, who was set on his argument. He knew that Akane needed the transfusion, but having his two closest patients hanging by a thread was something he was not going to be responsible for.

"I can't let her die because you're worried about me passing out. She needs me, and this is the only thing I can do for her right now other than being me lying on that table. Take my blood."

The older nurse, knowing the doctor was right but fearing for the girl in the OR shrugged when the doctor asked for backup on his argument. Dr. Tofu, seeing that no one was going to argue with Ranma, spoke again. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I can't recommend that. Your defenses will be low, leaving you open to…"

"I don't care. This is my fight now. I can't let her go like this."

Dr. Tofu crossed his arms. "What if the transfusion is unsuccessful and she dies, anyway? You'll be so weak after it that you won't be there to say goodbye."

Ranma felt the doctor's words strike a nerve. He weighted his options and decided that trying to save her life was better than to just sit here and cry like the rest of them. "I'll deal with that if the time comes. I don't need your approval, anyway," Ranma said as he turned around and faced the two nurses. "Let's do this."

The nurses nodded and led Ranma away from the waiting room, taking him to a small lab to draw his blood. The moment the blood started leaving his body, doctor Tofu's fears came true. Ranma began feeling dizzy and weak. He attempted to remain awake as long as he could, but soon the stress of the day took its toll on him, sending him to a dreamless sleep.

xxxXXXxxx

Ranma sat on an uncomfortable chair in the waiting room of the emergency room of Nerima hospital. Flashbacks of when he had woken up in this place, lost and confused, plagued his mind. Here he was again, but as a visitor, not a patient, and yet he felt that his life depended on the doctors and nurses that were treating Akane inside the operating room, behind the bolted doors. After he donated his blood for her, he passed out for several hours. Once he woke up, the nurses were quick to guide him back to join the family. When he arrived, he was surprised to see Ukyo among the stressed bunch. Other than a nod, he had not spoken to her, still upset that she had kept from him that she was engaged to the man he had just defeated. Yet, at this moment, he had better things to worry about.

He rubbed his face with his hands again, spreading the dried blood in his hands all over his face. Just hours ago, he had been celebrating his victory over Satoshi's school to obtain certification for the Tendo Dojo, and in a matter of seconds it had all been turned on itself. Here he sat, surrounded by family and friends, who were also on the edge of their seat, waiting for any news of the status of Akane's health. They had all been there for almost twelve hours, with nothing else than useless peeps coming from the doctors and nurses that precariously walked between them, inside and out of the operating room.

No amount of threats from Ranma would make them speak after he almost blew half of the medical staff caring for Akane to pieces when he first woke up, and he had almost punched one of the doctors on the face, but Genma and Soun had stopped him just in time.

He wanted to clean his arms and hands from Satoshi's blood, but he was afraid that the moment he left the room, Akane's surgery would stop and the doctor would come out of the OR. He debated with himself that if something happened, he would hear it, as the restrooms were just a few feet away from the OR, but his need to be there for her kept winning. After a while, and after reaching the end of his patience and disgust of carrying the other man's blood on his skin, he stood up without a word and locked himself inside the restroom. He turned on the faucet and poured exaggerated amounts of soap on his arms, and he began scrubbing vigorously, making sure no trace of Satoshi's fluids remained on his skin. Once he was satisfied with his work, he thoroughly rinsed his arms and hands before grabbing a handful of paper towels and patting himself dry.

He threw away the used paper towels on the trashcan before he unlocked the door and opened it just in time to hear the conversation between the main surgeon and Doctor Tofu.

"Thank you for your input doctor, we figured that with your years of treating her, you could shed some light on this unusual case."

Ranma watched as Tofu received a copy of Akane's file before the surgeon returned to the OR. Ranma ran towards them and yelled the surgeon to stop, but he had already locked the door behind him. Ranma stood in front of the door and began pounding on it, screaming at the top of his lungs that they could not continue keeping them in the dark before Nodoka pulled him away from the door, telling him they did not.

"What do you mean?"

Ranma looked at his mom, with fresh tears in her eyes and thought the worse. The other women in the group looked devastated, and the men in the group looked at a loss. Ranma's eyes fell on Dr. Tofu as he read the contents of the folder he had, before throwing himself at him and grabbing him by the collar, making the papers fly up in the air in complete disorder.

"Ranma, you have to calm down," the doctor said, not at all intimated by the man's stance.

"I don't gotta do shit! Tell me what's wrong with her! Is she gonna be alright?"

The doctor watched as Genma and Soun again played hospital police and peeled off Ranma from the doctor's clothes. They forced him to sit down as they all awaited the doctor's prognosis. Nabiki and Ukyo helped gathered the mess of papers and placed them in some kind of order before handing them back to Ono.

"Ranma," he began, knowing that everyone had an idea of what was happening, except the young man sitting across him. After Ranma had passed out after his blood donation, they had all began discussing their knowledge of Akane's issues. Bringing all their ideas together, they slowly began discovering the real reason behind Akane's odd behavior and symptoms. Exchanging ideas and secrets they had all kept from each other, they were able to help the doctors figure out what was wrong with their unusually ill patient.

"Do you know what happened to Akane's mom?"

Ranma scoffed, not finding the connection whatsoever between Akane's mom and Akane's condition. He threw his arms in the air to show his lack of interest in the topic at hand before responding to the doctor.

"No. She died? Right?"

Tofu nodded. "How familiar are you with the circumstances of her death?"

Ranma made a face, growing frustrated with the doctor's attempt at avoid the subject. "I don't know."

"Did Akane ever mention anything to you?"

"No."

"Did you ever ask her?

"NO! Why is this relevant?"

The doctor turned to Nodoka who shook her head. He then turned to Kasumi who also shook her head. The doctor rubbed his forehead in anticipation of what was to come.

"Akane's mom died when Akane was very young."

"I know that much," Ranma spat.

"I thought you said you did not ask her. Were you never curious?"

"I didn't! Doc, come on! What was I supposed to say? 'Hey Akane, lovely weather! By the way, how did your mom buy the farm?'"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then _what_ do you mean?"

"Akane's mom died of an unknown disease."

"OK."

"She had been ill for a few months before she passed. She began exhibiting prolonged and sporadic symptoms of common illness; coughing, fever, vomiting. She never thought much of them, so she would take medicine to treat the symptoms and she would soon forget them after they were gone. A few weeks after, the medicine was no longer stopping the symptoms, and she began experiencing periods of drowsiness, dizziness and morning nausea. Being still in her prime, she obviously thought…."

"That she was pregnant," Ranma finished for the doctor, painfully remembering how Akane had been labeled as a whore when she was thought to be with child.

"Right. She and Soun had tried having a boy, and after three daughters, they had finally given up hope. She was thrilled with the possibility that she could bear a son for Soun, so she hid her symptoms for a few weeks until she was able to test herself for pregnancy. She wanted to give them a son to heir the dojo in case…"

"In case me and Akane didn't like each other. I get that."

"Sadly, the pregnancy results came back negative."

Ranma stared at the doctor, not being able to piece together what he was trying to say. He saw Nodoka trying to avoid his gaze, as did Kasumi, both carrying a look of guilt on their faces. He then looked at the doctor, who had a serious look on his face as he held Akane's file.

He noticed that one else seemed shocked at this information, as if they were already aware of it. It was then he realized that he was the last one being told what truly was happening to Akane after all this time.

"Doctor, are you trying to tell me Akane is sick, like her mom?"

The doctor nodded. Ranma looked down at the floor, repeating to his mind the information he had just been given. He searched his mind for all the indications that Akane was sick, and it was not until then that he realized how blind he had been. Of course, it was more than just low blood count and all the other shit she told him, he could not even remember right now!

His mind brought to him the handful of occasions she had been dizzy or nauseous, and how many time she had thrown up. He remembered their first date and how she had thrown up after they had eaten Indian food, and how she and he both had attributed it to an upset stomach. He then remembered when they babysat Kasumi's twins and she got a fever, and how they had blamed it on the chicken pox. He remembered how he had forced her to go see the doctor after their graduation party, since she remained ill. Then, he remembered how she had thrown up nonstop, the night before the tournament, saying she was just nervous and possibly stressed, and he had still let her fight.

He berated himself for not going with her to the doctor. He should have been there with her, pushing for answers to her random symptoms. He should have done something about it, against her will. If only he had known…if any of them had known…

_"Wait." _Ranma thought.

After another moment of silence, his mind hit him with a realization. He stood up and walked to his mother. She knew the moment she saw the anger on his face that he had finally figured it out.

"Ranma, I can explain…" she attempted to calm his fury before it exploded in her face.

"YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS, DIDN'T YOU?"

"Ranma, I just thought she was…"

"PREGNANT! Yes, I know! You were taunting her me and her about it, when there wasn't even a chance in hell that she _could_ be pregnant!"

"Well, you never denied that you and her…"

"To piss you off! I'd never dishonor her like that!"

Nodoka lowered her head, ashamed of her actions. He then looked at Kasumi, who was biting her nails, raw.

"And you! Her own sister? You knew too, didn't you?"

"Ranma," Kasumi began, "she made me promise, made all of us promise, not to tell you."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN _ALL_ OF YOU?" he said as he looked around and realized everyone had known something was terribly wrong with her, except him.

"How could you? You left me in the dark, not knowing she was suffering behind my back? I had to drag it out of her two nights ago, but you could have told me when it mattered to save her life!"

"But, Ranma, how could you not know? It was obvious she was sick!"

"Not to him, it wasn't," Nabiki said, jumping to his defense. "You know how Akane is; I bet she hid herself when she felt sick so Ranma wouldn't suspect a thing."

Ranma rubbed his face with his hands, knowing that had been exactly what she had done for months. "Why? Why did she do that to me?"

"She wanted to tell you, but after the tournament. She didn't want you to worry about her on top of everything else."

"She did! She did tell me, but I didn't think it was this bad. Did she truly think that I'd care more about the fucking tournament than her life?"

"No. But she knew what was at stake, and none of us thought that it was truly serious. We just thought that…"

"She was pregnant, I know! But, she never was. There was no way she was…or is."

Ranma's fists trembled in anger. He kicked the closest chair, making it hit the ceiling and break upon landing. He then turned back to Tofu and spoke. "So, what happened to Akane's mom?"

"Her symptoms worsened until she began coughing up blood," he said.

Ranma took his hand to his chest, feeling his heart crunch up.

"Just like Akane did, last night," Ranma said, wondering if that had been the last chance to save her; the last chance he had had to putting the pieces together and sending her straight to the hospital to save her life. However, he had not. None of them had. Instead, he rubbed her back as she threw up in their hotel room before letting her fight the next day. He just sat there and watched as she exerted herself, winning the fight that would open the doors for him to defeat the last school that stood in the way of their certification. He just, literally, pushed her to her limit and sent her on her merry way to die.

"Indeed. One day, Soun came home and found her on the floor of the kitchen, convulsing and spitting up foam."

Ranma closed his eyes and recalled the familiar scene the doctor had just described, as it had unfolded in front of him last night. His mind began making bigger connections, finally understanding where the doctor was leading with his story.

"What happened after that?"

"She was hospitalized, just as Akane is now. The doctors could not find anything wrong with her, and why she wouldn't stop bleeding inside. A couple of days after being admitted, her heart stopped."

Ranma fell to his knees and held his body weight as he lay on all fours. He heard the noises of defeat coming from his family and he knew exactly what Tofu was conveying to him.

"Doctor Tofu," Ranma began, swallowing the knot in his throat before attempting to speak again. "Are you telling me that this is the last time I'll speak with Akane?"

The doctor remained silent for a while, staring at the file in front of him. After a long pause, he closed the folder and crouched down to stand at Ranma's level. He placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder, feeling him shiver under his grip.

"I'm telling you that if you –any of you, have something to tell her, you should do it now."

Ranma heard the loud sobs of Akane's sisters and her dad, and felt his soul tear in two. He knew what the doctor meant. Whenever he saw Akane again, there would not be any two-sided conversation. There would only be a teary goodbye from them to her. If they were lucky, she would still be alive, and could perhaps hear their voices in her unconscious stage. More likely at this point, the doctor was preparing them to pour their feelings out to a cold body, deprived of all life.

"_Just as it was in Jusendo. Her cold body in my arms."_

The only difference was that there would not be a final attempt to end their lives. There would not be another miracle bringing her back to him. There would not be another long stretch of fear and hope, waiting for her to return from the battlefield. There would not be another chance. He had been given his last chance, and his chance ended now.

How could it end like this? Her illness seemed so out of place! They had just finished high school, had been admitted to college, and had just earned their certification for the dojo. How could it all be for naught?

Ranma's thoughts were interrupted when he heard screaming coming from the OR.

"WE'RE LOSING HER!"

Ranma's eyes looked around as he saw a pair of nurses running towards the OR, rolling a defibrillator with them. Ranma stood up and ran after them, punching and kicking anyone who tried to stop him. He stood inside the OR, watching Akane's fla line, and the doctors trying to revive her. No one attempted to remove him from the room, recalling the earlier incident in the hall. He was not doing anything, anyway. He was just standing there, watching the scramble of doctors and nurses racing to save her life.

"CLEAR!" one of the doctors said as he shocked Akane's chest with what looked like two smooth metal plates. Akane's body slightly arched with the intensity of the shock. Her heart beat one time and flatlined again. The doctor stared at the flatline and rubbed the metal plates together before yelling his orders again.

"We'll do it again. CLEAR!"

Her body had the same response. He saw the doctors shock her five more times, stopping every time to see the small beep on the monitor and the continuous flatline that followed. They attempted five more times until they finally gave up, turned off the defibrillator, and gave Ranma a sympathetic look. At that point, they did not bother making him leave the room as they began leaving themselves.

"Time of death: 2:25 a.m."

Ranma took small steps towards her, not believing she was gone. Her eyes were closed, making her seem as if she was only asleep. She wore a hospital gown, which was in complete disarray after the chaos that had just occurred. The blanket that had been covering her lay sideways, half on her body and half hanging from the table. He noticed the scratch marks that covered her body, some of them still dripping blood. She had a few bruises on her face that he did not remember seeing there before, perhaps earned when she fell on the floor of the lockers at the stadium.

Ranma grabbed her hand as if doing so would make her stay in this world. He caressed random places of her body, as if attempting to convince himself that she was truly gone this time. After a few seconds, the initial shock was replaced by anger, and he began screaming at the doctors to stop.

"Where the hell do you think you're going? Shock her again!"

"Son, she's gone," one of the doctors said, tired and defeated after hours of being stuck in this room, attempting to win at a lost cause.

"No, she's not. Shock her again," Ranma said as he handed the metal plates to whoever would grab them. When no one did, he got on his knees and began to beg. "Anyone, please. Please, shock her again! I can't…" Ranma said, sobbing deeply as he did. He looked up at Akane and shook the table she laid on, attempting to wake her up.

"Akane, what makes you think you can just leave me?"

He again begged to the departing doctors to help her, but they paid no heed to him, knowing nothing else could be done. When he finally accepted that everyone in there thought their job was completed, he stood up and unplugged the metal plates from the machine. He proceeded to turn on the machine and stared at Akane.

"You're _not_ getting away that easily, Akane! I'm NOT letting you go without a fight!"

One of the nurses saw him throwing the plates to the floor seeing as he could not figure out how to make them work. She tried to stop him, but he kicked her out of his way before placing a firm grip around the defibrillating machine. Seeing his aggression had escalated yet again, other doctors tried to stop him as they made time for security to arrive. He screamed as he gathered enough of his aura to send them flying away from him before placing an open palm on Akane's heart.

He closed his eyes as he concentrated in reproducing the technique Akane had been teaching him. He felt the energy from the machine run through his arm, across his chest and reach the hand that was pressing on Akane. With a sound of pain coming from his lips from the energy running through him, he channeled the energy to shock her heart.

Not being able to control the intensity of the shock, Akane's back arched so high it almost made her seem like she was sitting upright. Akane's heart beat once, and then flat lined, just as before.

"Akane! Come back!"

He shocked her again, and the heart monitor's activity did not change. He saw that his effort had not paid off, so he tried again, and again, and again, until he had shocked her a dozen times, non-stop. Exhausted from the efforts, and losing control of his spasmy muscles due to the electricity traveling through him, he slid down to the ground, holding her hand as he did so.

"Akane," he said between sobs.

The members of the family and medical staff could only look at the man on the floor. His clothes were torn, and he sobbed uncontrollably, his laments sending shivers down all of their spines. He cried, shamelessly. He cried with all his might. He cried, and screamed, and cursed and sobbed. The pain was unbearable to him.

"Akane, don't leave me! Akane! I love you, Akane. Please don't leave me behind!"

Nodoka could not bear the scene and held on to Genma, crying her eyes out. The two Tendo sisters and Ukyo hugged each other, attempting to comfort the other. Soun laid on the floor, on all fours, tears streaming from his eyes. Dr. Tofu rested against a wall, hiding his pain from the mourning family behind him.

"Akane," he whispered, thinking of ways of taking his own life. He could not go on without her, not all over again. It had nearly killed him the first time. He knew he could not do it all over again.

His grip on her hand became tighter than he thought possible. He kissed her hand before placing it on his chest, near his heart. He used both hands to crush her hand in his as a new wave of pain surfaced. _"Akane, wait for me. I'll be with you now." _He thought as he began gathering his energy to stop his own heart.

BEEP.

He remembered all the times they had spent together, and thought about how they would never come back.

BEEP.

He felt his body become cold at the thought of not feeling her hands explore his body again.

BEEP BEEP.

He remembered himself kissing her, and how her lips tasted on his, every time.

BEEP BEEP BEEP.

His mind showed him a slideshow of her face, her smile, he heard her voice and it soothed what he felt were the last moments of his life. When he gathered enough energy, he felt the grip of her hand tighten one last time, only that he was not doing the tightening. He opened his eyes and saw that her fingers were moving. He released the energy he had gathered and it made the guards who had just recovered and were aiming back at him, be sent flying backwards yet again.

He saw her hand shaking in his, and it was then he realized the heart monitor was no longer flat lined.

"A-Akane?

He stood up and saw her eyes fluttering open, looking confused of her whereabouts. The beep he had been hearing had not been his own heart readying for its premature death; it had been her heart returning her back to Earth.

She opened her mouth to say something, but her mouth was dry. He leaned closer to her and rested his face on her chest, relishing as it moved up and down.

"_She breathing…she's alive."_

The doctors were finally able to get closer to her and stood there with their mouths open, unable to believe what had just happened. One doctor began taking note of her vitals and shrugged to his colleagues. "It's incredible, she's alive and stable!"

"How can this be? What did you do to her?" asked one of the doctors to Ranma, who now had half of his body on hers, holding on to her for dear life.

Akane cleared her throat and whispered an answer to the confused medical staff.

"It was Ranma. He showed me the way back."

Ranma cried again, this time tears of relief as he looked up and saw her looking into his eyes. He did the only thing he could think of that he wanted to do at the time. He kissed her hand, and then held her head in place with his other hand.

"Akane Tendo, I love you."

Akane smiled, happy that the journey back had been worthwhile. The doctors began calling orders around, orders that Ranma did not care to worry about. The nurses made haste to clean up the OR, and the doctors told the security guards to leave. The family who moments ago had just been readying to hold a funeral for Akane, _again_, hugged each other, happy to see the younger Tendo sister alive. Ranma heard the doctors talking about discharge papers, and other medical jargon he truly did not give a damn about. All he cared was that Akane was alive. He closed his eyes and before exhaustion took over, he heard Akane calling his name, thanking him for saving her life.

Akane closed her eyes, also exhausted after the ordeal, never letting go of his hand. She did not think she would make it back after being out of her body for so long. It had been just as it had been in Jusendo, only worse. With a last calming breath, she allowed her body to relax and sleep to take her over. One final thought crossed her mind as she felt the doctors taking both of them to be cleaned up.

"_Ranma Saotome: He finds impossible solutions, to impossible problems, all the time."_

* * *

**A/N:** Like?


	12. Epilogue

**Epilogue  
**

The Tower of Tokyo shone brightly in all its glory, welcoming locals and tourists alike. Akane Tendo was one of those locals, sitting at a table for two inside its newly renovated restaurant, which stood in the very best location to admire the view from the top. She rested her head on her upturned left hand as she peeked at her watch and realized her date was late, perhaps, too late.

The ice cubes in her drink were beginning to melt and blend with the liquid. Not wanting to catch the waiter's attention, who would in turn ask how much longer until her other party arrived, she touched the outside of the glass with the index finger of her right hand. In the blink of an eye, she transferred enough ice to cover the majority of the glass, lowering the temperature of the liquid inside. Satisfied with her work, she admired her hands and the power that lay within her.

Four months after her recent near death experience at the hospital, her body had completely recovered from the shock. Her last experience had shown her a new light of her life, and she had made adjustments to make sure her future was as bright as she wanted it to be. In a couple of weeks, she would be moving into her new dorm at Tokyo University. Three days after moving in, she would finally begin her undergraduate studies. After all the hard work and sacrifices, she was finally going to be able to enjoy her life. Soun and Genma had agreed to take turns to watch over the Dojo, and now that it was certified, Ranma and she could appoint an interim master and trainer to watch over while they were gone without breaking any of the NRD's rules.

Akane's thoughts were interrupted by a man standing next to her, catching her attention with his question.

"Have you been waiting long for me?"

Akane looked up and stared at the brown-haired boy, and then followed him with her eyes as he took the seat in front of her at her table. Akane tilted her head at the newcomer before she answered his question. "Not really."

Satoshi did not let her indifference affect him at all. "Hey, listen. I'm sorry about what happened. I shoulda stayed out of it. But, hey! We have college to look forward to now! We'll see each other all the time!"

Akane nodded and took a sip of her drink.

When she did not attempt to make conversation, he continued talking. "Have you been feeling better since, well, the tournament?"

Akane nodded again. "Much better, in fact. It's as if nothing ever happened to me."

Satoshi stared at her for a moment longer as she played with her straw. His staring was interrupted when someone tapped on his shoulder. He turned around to face a stomach in front of him. He then looked up and saw Ranma, his smile faded almost immediately.

"Hi, Satoshi. You're in my seat."

Akane smiled at Satoshi's reaction, but looked outside the window to avoid being caught relishing in his misery. Satoshi scrambled to get up from the seat and mumbled some apologies as he left the table.

Ranma, satisfied that he had scared the arrogant suitor away from them, sat in the chair and grabbed the menu.

"Sorry I'm late, Akane. I had to run a quick errand your sister was supposed to run."

Akane, who was now chewing on her straw, turned around to face him. He looked as if he had just run a marathon, but was slowly recovering his air.

"What errand?"

"Just, an errand. Hey, have you ordered yet?"

Akane shook her head. "I was waiting for you."

Ranma shrugged apologetically before calling the waiter and ordering for the both of them. After the waiter left, Ranma's legs began fidgeting as he patted the pocket of his pants, making sure the ring that was burning a hole in his pocket was still there.

"Are you OK?" Akane finally asked when she saw him pulling on his collar.

"Yeah, just coming down from the running."

"Running?"

"I was running here 'cuz I knew I was late."

"Very late."

"Yes, very late. I'm really sorry."

The waiter came back with two slices of chocolate pie and two cups of coffee. He distributed to the two guests before bowing to them and taking his leave.

Without further ado, the couple began eating their slice of pie. Ranma was not even hungry, due to his nervousness, but he still pretended to eat. Akane, unaware of his lack of hunger, continued to take small pieces of pie to her mouth as her eyes scanned the area around them.

"They really spruced up the place," she stated as she saw the delicate furniture and chandeliers and wooden floors.

Ranma nodded, unable to say any other words than the ones he had been rehearsing on his way here. He finally decided that if he waited any longer he would implode, so he made it a point to loudly dropping his fork on the small dish that held his pie before starting back at her.

Akane watched him as both his hands reached out and grabbed one of hers. "Akane, there's something I have to tell you. Something that cannot wait until we start college next month."

Akane nodded. "Me too. You first."

Ranma noticed that Akane had stopped eating her pie and stared at him, providing him her undivided attention. He took this as his cue. Akane had not remembered that he had declared his feelings to her when he brought her back from dead, so he had made it his goal to tell her again, now.

"Akane, I've been trying to tell you this since you came back from China, but something always gets in the way. So, I'm just gonna go out and say it before Satoshi decides to come back."

Akane knew where this was going, and it was exactly what she was waiting to hear from him. He lifted his eyes from their intertwined hands, and stared at her brown eyes.

"Akane, I love you. I am truly, madly, and deeply in love with you. And…and I want you to be my wife."

As he said so, one of his hands reached for his pocket, and he took out the ring, extending his arm so that the ring stood a few inches away from Akane's face. "Will you marry me?"

Akane smiled and took the ring from him, admiring how beautiful it was. Ranma's heart was about to leap out of his chest, waiting for her response. After staring at the ring for a few more moments, she grabbed his hand and deposited the ring back inside it, closing his fist to keep it safe.

Ranma, who had been watching the action of her hands, looked up at her with a confused face before she spoke again.

"No."

Ranma felt as if a bucket of ice-cold water hit him. "No?"

"The answer is no."

Ranma stared at her, looking for any sign that showed she was bluffing but he found none. His mind hit him with reasons why she would say no, and when he found a good one, his hope returned.

"I don't mean tomorrow, Akane. We can finish college first if you'd like. I just wanted to make it official."

Akane shook her head. "I know what you meant, Ranma. But the answer is still no."

Ranma's heart broke in a million pieces. He felt a knot form in his throat and his hands drip in sweat. "Why?"

Akane pulled herself away from him, readjusting the linen on her lap. She exhaled deeply and then looked up at him.

"I wish you'd given me a clue about this. I would have saved you the trouble."

"Akane, you're not making any sense."

"Ranma, I don't love you, anymore."

Ranma shook his head, making sure his brain was wide-awake and that his ears had not heard wrong.

"You love me?"

"I did, but not anymore. I don't want to marry you or even date you. It's over."

Ranma, whose eyes had begun to glisten, hit the table with his fist. His breathing became labored, trying his best to keep himself from blowing up the tower with them inside it.

"Akane! It doesn't make any sense! How could you just stop? After everything? No, I refuse to believe it."

Akane looked around, making sure the crowd was not listening in as Ranma's voice rose in volume. The last she wanted was to cause a scene.

"I just realized that being with you was not what I wanted in my life. You've been good to me, but the engagement is now over. We can split ownership of the dojo, and…"

"I don't care about the fucking dojo! Akane, do you have any idea, any idea at all of who you are to me? Akane, you're my _life_!"

"I know. But you are _not_ mine."

Ranma stood up, placing the ring back in his pocket. He stared at her one last time, burning her face in his mind. "If you change your mind; I'll be waiting. Will you be OK?"

Akane did not respond. He decided to walk away from her without saying good-bye. Akane followed him with her eyes as he mingled with the crowd until he disappeared behind the double doors of the restaurant. Once he was out of sight, she returned to her pie and continued eating, as if she had not just ended the only serious relationship she ever had. She took a sip of her coffee to wash down the pie before a smirk reached her face. She looked to her right and stared at her reflection in the window as her mouth open one more time.

Only one pair of lips moved, but two voices simultaneously spoke.

"We are OK now. Everything will be OK now," she said, with a tint of gold in her eyes.

* * *

**A/N:** I was going to say: don't kill me! But there is no way I can get away with that. To anyone who is plotting to send me to hell and back, please remember that the last installment is yet to come. I love Ranma and Akane, but I also realize that you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet. I won't be posting the story until I finish typing it up, so it might be one or two months before you see it here. I hope I haven't pushed you away with this, and I know I'm risking your loyalty, but I will give you the best read you've ever had in a while. Thank you all, very much, for your continued support, and I hope to see it when "Fix You," is posted to close the trilogy. Yup, I would listen to the lyrics from Coldplay, if I were you ;)


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